Our Lucan U13A Girls Hockey Team competed in Playdown and Playoff games
throughout late February and March.
Our Team
had a busy stretch of 11 games in a span of 18 days during late February and
early March. A mix of both playdown games to qualify for a spot in the
Provincials Tournament, and Playoff games to move onto the second round of League
Championships. Our Playdown loop had four Teams competing for two spots, with
Lucan facing off against Bluewater, Woodstock and London, with a home &
home game versus each. The level of competition in this loop was fierce with
close games among all Teams. The games were terrific, tight defense, great
goaltending, high octane offense, lead changes and scoring right down to the
final minutes. When the dust settled, Lucan finished with a record of 2 Wins, 1
Loss & 3 Ties, good enough for a tie in second spot, however we lost out on
the tie breaker.
Our Playoff
bracket was just as competitive, with the top four Teams in our West Division –
Stratford, Lucan, Woodstock and South Huron – each playing a home & home
series, with only the top Team advancing to the second round versus the winners
of the Central and SouthWest divisions. These games were also extremely tight
battles of attrition, with every Team going hard after every precious point.
Once again tooth & nail battles, wild momentum swings & late game
heroics were on full display every game. After the final buzzer sounded, an
exhausted Lucan squad finished with a record of 3 Wins, 1 Loss and 2 Ties, good
enough for a tie for first place in points with Woodstock. This time however we
won the tiebreaker, which earned us a spot in the second round, another home
& home series versus Woolwich and Stoney Creek.
Our first
game versus Woolwich was a spirited back & forth affair, with Lucan taking
the lead in the second period, and Woolwich tying it up late in the third for a
1-1 draw. Game 2 the next day back in Lucan saw a repeat of the fierce tight
checking and defensive battles all game long. The game remained scoreless until
the final seconds when Lucan scored, taking a dramatic 1-0 win. Up next was a
road trip to Stoney Creek, to take on the #1 ranked Team in the Province. We
had played Stoney Creek twice in the Sarnia Silver Stick tournament back in
January, and were well aware of how good this Sabres Team is. But Lucan was
playoff battle-hardened and ready for the challenge. This game was another
extremely tight defensive battle, with every attempt to gain an inch met with a
4-Player rugby scrum. The Teams traded chances, but tremendous goaltending and
defensive play at both ends, combined with life & death backchecking, kept
the game scoreless as time ticked away. Lucan’s penalty killers were heroic all
game, including killing one off in the final minute of play, with the game
ending in a hard fought 0-0 tie. This set the stage for our 4th and
final game back at home in Lucan on Easter Sunday.
The winner
of this game would move on to play in the U13A Best of Best Championship final in
Toronto next weekend, so the stakes couldn’t have been higher. The Lucan arena
was packed full of Family & Fans, and the atmosphere was electric all game
long! Stoney Creek opened the scoring early with a power play goal from in
close. Lucan dug in & fought back hard, generating many terrific scoring
chances of our own, but the Sabres goalie stood tall and made outstanding save
after outstanding save. Lucan’s amazing Goalie was terrific in her net as well,
slammin’ the door time after time on the Sabres incredible snipers, and the
game remained a 1-0 score as the minutes ticked away. Lucan continued to push
for the equalizer throughout the 2nd & 3rd, with tremendous
scoring chances, breakaways, wild net-front scrambles and attacking the Stoney
Creek net with everything they could muster, but countless times the puck slide
just past the post or agonizingly zingged over the crossbar. The Irish gave it
everything they had left in the tank in the dying minutes, but incredible
defense efforts and goaltending from the Stoney Creek side held up, and
they skated away with an extremely hard fought 1-0 win. It was certainly a
great game and worthy of earning spot in the final in Toronto.
Our Players
certainly played their hearts out over a six week span of super intense games
against many of the best Teams in the Province. Each game was nearly do-or-die,
and each goal for & against could be the difference in the season. Of the
15 Playoff/Playdown games we played, only two had more than a 1-goal
difference in score. Our Players battled through injuries, sicknesses and some crushing defeats along the way, but stuck together and
stayed resilient, giving it everything they had night after night, all Players
contributing at different times, to make it to the final game of round 2, and
make our final home game of the season a very memorable one. Well done Girls!
Congratulations
to Stoney Creek on their win, and good luck in Best of Best final as well as
the Provincials Tournament.
Congratulations
as well to Woodstock & London, who will represent our Region at
Provincials.
And
congratulations to all the other participating Teams in the U13A Playoffs and
Playdowns, what a battle those games were!
Good luck
to Lucan’s U11, U13 U15 and U18 Girls Teams who will represent Lucan at the
Provincials Tournament, Go Irish!
Thanks to
all our Parents, extended Family and Friends for all your support over the
season, we couldn’t do it without you!
Have a great summer
everyone and see you next season at the Rink!
