Several local teams prevail at OWHA Provincial Tournaments
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
The local girls’ hockey season wrapped up over the weekend, as the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) held its provincial championships in the Toronto area, welcoming six Huron Heat teams and a number of other local squads in search of provincial glory... with some finding it.
The Senior C Huron Heat earned provincial gold with a 5-1 win over the Orillia Hawks in the final.
The team began with a 5-0 win over the Bluewater Hawks on April 14, followed by a 4-4 draw with the Orillia Hawks later that day.
The Heat then began April 15 with an 8-0 win over the Gloucester Cumberland Lady Stars, followed by a 5-4 victory over the St. Marys Storm.
The team then defeated Stone Mills in the semifinals by a score of 4-1 and, ultimately, the Orillia Hawks in the finals by a score of 5-1 to win provincial gold.
The U13 C Wingham/Lucknow 86ers won their provincial bracket, defeating the Kanata Rangers in the final and going undefeated in the tournament.
On April 14, the team beat the London Devilettes by a score of 6-1, followed by a 5-0 win over the Twin Centre Hericanes. On April 15, Wingham/Lucknow beat the Carleton Place Cyclones by a score of 3-1, followed by a 3-0 win over the Chatham Kent Crush.
On April 16, the 86ers won their semifinal game over the Lambeth Lancers by a score of 7-0 before winning the championship over the Kanata Rangers with a 3-0 shutout victory in the finals.
Both the Huron Heat and the Upper Maitland Mustangs were also in this bracket.
The Mustangs tied their first game 1-1 with the Lambeth Lancers before losing to the Lindsay Lynx 3-0 and the Glengarry Highlanders 5-0. The Huron Heat lost all three of their games, falling by a score of 2-0 to the Kanata Rangers, 2-0 to the Chatham Kent Crush and 3-1 to the Woodstock Wildcats.
The U18 C Mitchell Meteors won their provincial bracket, defeating the Tillsonburg Lightning by a score of 1-0 in the final.
The team, which includes a trio of local players, Teagan Hickling, Madison Bernard and Nyla Pawitch, went through the tournament undefeated, the only blemish, a 2-2 tie with the Kincardine Kinucks.
The Meteors began the tournament with a 2-0 win over the Brockville Angels, followed by the aforementioned draw with Kincardine, both on April 14. The team then beat the West Oxford Inferno by a score of 3-1 on April 15 and the Chatham Kent Crush by a score of 1-0 later that day.
On April 16, the team beat the Smiths Falls Cubs by a score of 4-0 in the semifinals, followed by a 1-0 win over the Tillsonburg Lightning in the finals.
The U11 B Heat made it all the way to the semifinals, but lost by a score of 2-1 to the Carleton Place Cyclones, settling short of gold for the season.
The Heat won both of their games on Friday, April 14, beating the Niagara Rapids by a score of 2-0 and the Kingston Ice Wolves by a score of 3-1. The next day, the Heat shut out the Timmins Falcons by a score of 6-0 and the Ayr Rockets by a score of 3-0.
The Heat then lost against Carleton Place by a score of 2-1, but won the third-place game against the North Durham Blades by a score of 5-3, earning the players a spot on the podium.
The U9 B Huron Heat lost three of the four games they played at the championships.
On Saturday, April 15, the Heat lost to the Toronto Leaside Wildcats by a score of 2-1, followed by a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the North Halton Twisters.
The team began Sunday, April 16 with a 7-3 win over the Kingston Ice Wolves, but then fell to the Nepean Wildcats by a score of 12-2 to end their tournament.
The U11 C Huron Heat won one of their three games, opening the tournament with a 4-1 loss to the Woodstock Wildcats and bouncing back with a 4-0 victory over the Cold Creek Comets, but ultimately falling to the Kemptville Storm by a score of 3-0.
In the U15 C bracket, the Upper Maitland Mustangs made it to the post-round-robin stage, but lost their final two games of the tournament.
They opened with a 1-0 win over the West Oxford Inferno and a 2-0 win over the Cold Creek Comets, both on April 14, followed by a 3-0 win over the Kemptville Storm and a 1-0 overtime win over the Gloucester Cumberland Stars on April 15. The next day, the Mustangs lost to the Kanata Rangers by a score of 1-0 in overtime and then to the Wallaceburg Lakers by a score of 2-1.
The U18 BB Huron Heat began their tournament with a win, beating the Orangeville Tigers by a score of 4-2 on April 14, but they then lost to the Norfolk Hericanes by a score of 4-1. The team’s tournament ended with a 5-0 loss to the Napanee Crunch.