Best of the Best, Final Game!, News, U13 Girls Tier 1, U13, 2022-2023 (Lucan Minor Hockey)

This Team is part of the 2022-2023 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Apr 10, 2023 | Dennis Pearn | 378 views
Best of the Best, Final Game!
On Saturday April 1st our Lucan U13B Girls Team travelled to Toronto to take on the Otanabee Wolverines in the Southern Conference Final Championship Game! 

Lucan finished our regular season in first place, and won series against very strong Bluewater, Chatham & Woolwich Teams to earn our spot in the Final Game. Our Girls were fired for one last game to decide which Team would be Crowned the of Best of the Best! 

Otanabee is big & strong, and started out fast, moving the puck well and putting the pressure on in our end. Early on it paid off as a seeing-eye shot slide just inside the post & over our goal line to give the Wolverines the early lead. But our Girls dug in and started to push back as the game wore on. By the half way mark we were carrying the play and blasting an onslaught of shots at the Otanabee net, but their Goalie stood tall and was stopping everything in site. As the game entered the third period Lucan kept pouring on the pressure & the Wolverines were hanging on for dear life, but Lucan was still unable to solve the Otanabee Defenses. We had numerous glorious chances to tie the game throughout the 3rd but couldn't get one over the goal line. But we had been down before, & never gave up and always found a way. As the minutes ticked away, in the final shifts Lucan poured it on with everything we had - then finally, a break - Lucan's hustling forwards forced Otanabee to take a penalty with 1:30 left to play. Lucan took a time out and pulled our Goalie for the 6 on 4 advantage. We kept the puck in the offensive end the entire time, winning faceoffs & tremendous puck battles, firing shots from all angles & distances in a furious final scramble in attempt to tie the game. The roar of the crowd was deafening as Lucan swarmed their net like hornets as clock clicked down towards zero! Then, unbelievably, with only 3.1 seconds left on the clock, Lucan fired an amazing bar-down shot to tie the game!! An amazing play and effort just in the nick of time, to send the game to overtime!

We had already been through a do-or-die overtime & 6-Player shootout in game 3 of our Bluewater series, and every game during our playoff run was extremely tight, so our Girl's nerves and resolve were already hard as steel. Lucan kept up the pressure & pushed hard for the knockout punch during the extra period, but the 5 minute overtime did not decide a winner. So on to the shootout - with a lineup chalked full of talented shooters that love to work on their craft, we had talked all year that we're happy to take on all-comers in a shootout! 

As home Team, Lucan had the choice to shoot first, or defer. This is where all those hard fought wins throughout our regular season really paid off, as Lucan has a secret weapon - our amazing Goalie, Ava!! So as we had done in our previous shootout, we let the opponent shoot first, and saved last "at bat" for ourselves. On their first shooter, Ava came out aggressive and stood tall, making a great save! Otanabee also saved Lucan's first shot, so on to shooter # 2, which Ava also moved quickly to the post and kicked aside! Lucan's 2nd shooter skated right down main street and ripped a bullet shot high blocker side to take the lead!! An amazing goal with the Championship on the line! This meant it all came down to Otanabee's 3rd shooter - Lucan's bench was vibrating in anticipation - the whistle blew, the shooter moved in, Ava came out...and made a terrific save for the win!! Lucan's Players poured off the bench to mob their star Goalie and the celebration was on!! An amazing & unforgettable last-second comeback win for the ages!! 

Congratulations to the Otanabee Wolverines on a terrific game an exciting finish worthy of the Best of the Best! 

It was an amazing Playoff run for our Lucan Girls Team, starting exactly one month earlier. 58 Teams in the Southern Conference. 20 Playoff Teams. 3 do or die series that each went the distance. 10 nail-biting games. 2 overtimes, 2 shootouts. 9 shootout attempts against, 9 saves! Only 1 last-minute loss, 3 hard fought ties, and 6 amazing wins! 14 goals for, and only 5 goals against!! An absolute outstanding display of Goaltending and Team Defense! Together with some unbelievable heart-stopping late game scoring heroics! And one amazing comeback win in the Championship Final game. 14 Girls, infinite determination, and 1 Team with the heart of a Lion! These Girls never gave up, played for each other and their hometown, and truly proved themselves to be, The Best of the Best!! 

After our game we took the stands to watch the Lucan U18B Girls Team battle in their Best of the Best Finals game, which was an amazing late-game comeback 3-2 win! Congratulations Girls on a great win and season!

Up next for our U13B Team, our last Tournament of the year in Brampton.

See you at the Rink!! 

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