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2019 OWBLL Provincials - The Way We Were
2019-08-18The Aces defence hadn't crumbled and kept their team in the game. The intermission between the 2nd & 3rd was quiet and tense. Anything could happen. The champs versus the upstarts, who would want it more?
There was a sense this year that anything could happen. Arthur ran the table in the regular season and had lost only a single game - a round-robin game against Grand River - in the Becky Smith Memorial tournament. The defending champion Attack had kept pace, their only regular season loss in Arthur on July 13th, after spotting the hometown Aces a 4-0 first period lead.
Clarington was back in the fold this year; they brought a younger team that had promise, but suffered from bouts of inconsistency. If they could string full games together, they would be a force to reckon with. Niagara finished 4th, but like all Niagara teams in the past, when they showed up to play, they were very tough to defeat. Hamilton kept up their building process and finished 5th - they were capable of upsetting anyone and everyone knew it.
Toronto and Whitby both had their struggles this year, flashes of brilliance followed by periods of inconsistency. However, like Hamilton, if anyone took them lightly, there would be a price to pay.
London, Akwesasne and Owen Sound rounded out the regular season standings. As new teams, predictable finishes, but they all tasted victory. It would only be a matter of time for them.
Friday's games featured offence with several lopsided scores as the stronger teams paired off with the weaker. Akwesasne, however, was having none of that and they kept their games against Niagara and Arthur close.
Saturday provided the most intrigue as teams sorted it out further. Only the top two teams in each of the five team pools would advance to Sunday's games. Arthur and Grand River ran the table in their respective pools and finished first. This setup two key games Saturday afternoon to decide who the other two semi-finalists would be.
In Pool A, Hamilton and Niagara met for the do-or-die game, which ended 3-3. This meant that the OLA tie-breaker formula was used. Each team had scored one more goal than they had given up through the round-robin portion of the tournament. Hamilton squeaked into the semi-finals by .001 of a percentage point of the formula. The Lady Bengals would face Grand River Sunday morning.
The final game of Pool B pitted Toronto against Clarington. After spotting the Gaels a 4-1 lead, the Stars scored three in a 4-minute span of the 3rd to tie it up. Clarington was on their heels for the last 7 minutes of the game, but Gael goalie Jaylin Grierson shut the door, turning away wave after wave of Toronto attacks to preserve the tie and allow Clarington a berth in the semi-finals against Arthur.
The first semi featured Hamilton and Grand River, which the Attack won 5-0. The game was much closer than the score indicated however, and during long stretches Hamilton carried the play, but were unable to solve star Attack goalie Chelsea Doolittle.
The second game saw an energetic Clarington team jump ahead of the Aces early, but steady defence and timely goals by Arthur had the Gaels playing catch-up for the latter half of the game. Arthur won 6-4.
If anything, the afternoon Bronze Medal game was entertaining! It looked as if Clarington was going to run away with it until Hamilton went on a late run of their own to tie the game at 6. In the overtime period, the Gaels scored 5 unanswered goals to win the Bronze Medal game 11-6.
It was fitting that the Gold Medal final featured the top two teams in the league. Sure, the Provincials had some upsets, some intriguing moments, but in the end both teams deserved to be in the final game. This would be a match up of experience versus determination, the defending champs against the team that had been building towards this moment when they joined the league 4 years ago. It would be tough, punishing defence against fast and skilled offence. And everyone knows defence wins championships, right?
The game started off defensively with no scoring in the first. It was a tentative period, neither team giving up any real scoring chances, and both offences proving routine looks to both goaltenders.
Grand River's Lindsay John broke the ice at 13:59 of the 2nd. Mekwan Tulpin added a second Attack goal a minute later and it looked like Grand River was going on a run, but Aces goalie Ashley Price held them until Becca Hostrawser got one back for Arthur at 9:15. Tulpin answered for Grand River a minute later and again the Attack pressed, only to be turned back by Price. At the other end of the floor, Grand River goalie Chelsea Doolittle held the fort during several dangerous Arthur forays. Finally, Tori Verbeek was able to solve Doolittle with less than a minute to go to make it 3-2 Grand River after 2.
One thing is for certain, the OWBLL has always had an exciting final to their season and this game was no different. The Attack had the lead, but you could see Arthur building their game, asserting their offence, taking the punishment to do what needed to be done. The Aces defence hadn't crumbled and kept their team in the game. The intermission between the 2nd & 3rd was quiet and tense. Anything could happen. The champs versus the upstarts, who would want it more?
That question was answered quickly into the third. First Brooke Whetstone 40 seconds into the period to tie the game for Arthur. Less than a minute later, call-up Taylor Collins put the Aces in the lead. For the next 9 minutes Grand River played a desperate catch-up game, but it was back and forth. As many chances as they had on Price, they gave up as many chances on Doolittle. The goaltending was outstanding. Collins scored again at 4:50 to put Arthur up 5-3. The Aces went into prevent mode and calmly controlled the play of the game. A few Attack chances here and there, but Price turned it all away. The final buzzer brought the Aces off the bench to mob their goalie and start the celebrations. Provincial champions. They knew they could do it.
Grand River was denied the three-peat, but it wasn't for a lack of effort using everything they had. I am certain they are going to want this one back next year. However, when Arthur came into the league a few years ago, they immediately established themselves as a team to be reckoned with. Now they are defending champs, and deservedly so. Next season is going to be some kind of fun indeed.
Clarington was back in the fold this year; they brought a younger team that had promise, but suffered from bouts of inconsistency. If they could string full games together, they would be a force to reckon with. Niagara finished 4th, but like all Niagara teams in the past, when they showed up to play, they were very tough to defeat. Hamilton kept up their building process and finished 5th - they were capable of upsetting anyone and everyone knew it.
Toronto and Whitby both had their struggles this year, flashes of brilliance followed by periods of inconsistency. However, like Hamilton, if anyone took them lightly, there would be a price to pay.
London, Akwesasne and Owen Sound rounded out the regular season standings. As new teams, predictable finishes, but they all tasted victory. It would only be a matter of time for them.
Friday's games featured offence with several lopsided scores as the stronger teams paired off with the weaker. Akwesasne, however, was having none of that and they kept their games against Niagara and Arthur close.
Saturday provided the most intrigue as teams sorted it out further. Only the top two teams in each of the five team pools would advance to Sunday's games. Arthur and Grand River ran the table in their respective pools and finished first. This setup two key games Saturday afternoon to decide who the other two semi-finalists would be.
In Pool A, Hamilton and Niagara met for the do-or-die game, which ended 3-3. This meant that the OLA tie-breaker formula was used. Each team had scored one more goal than they had given up through the round-robin portion of the tournament. Hamilton squeaked into the semi-finals by .001 of a percentage point of the formula. The Lady Bengals would face Grand River Sunday morning.
The final game of Pool B pitted Toronto against Clarington. After spotting the Gaels a 4-1 lead, the Stars scored three in a 4-minute span of the 3rd to tie it up. Clarington was on their heels for the last 7 minutes of the game, but Gael goalie Jaylin Grierson shut the door, turning away wave after wave of Toronto attacks to preserve the tie and allow Clarington a berth in the semi-finals against Arthur.
The first semi featured Hamilton and Grand River, which the Attack won 5-0. The game was much closer than the score indicated however, and during long stretches Hamilton carried the play, but were unable to solve star Attack goalie Chelsea Doolittle.
The second game saw an energetic Clarington team jump ahead of the Aces early, but steady defence and timely goals by Arthur had the Gaels playing catch-up for the latter half of the game. Arthur won 6-4.
If anything, the afternoon Bronze Medal game was entertaining! It looked as if Clarington was going to run away with it until Hamilton went on a late run of their own to tie the game at 6. In the overtime period, the Gaels scored 5 unanswered goals to win the Bronze Medal game 11-6.
It was fitting that the Gold Medal final featured the top two teams in the league. Sure, the Provincials had some upsets, some intriguing moments, but in the end both teams deserved to be in the final game. This would be a match up of experience versus determination, the defending champs against the team that had been building towards this moment when they joined the league 4 years ago. It would be tough, punishing defence against fast and skilled offence. And everyone knows defence wins championships, right?
The game started off defensively with no scoring in the first. It was a tentative period, neither team giving up any real scoring chances, and both offences proving routine looks to both goaltenders.
Grand River's Lindsay John broke the ice at 13:59 of the 2nd. Mekwan Tulpin added a second Attack goal a minute later and it looked like Grand River was going on a run, but Aces goalie Ashley Price held them until Becca Hostrawser got one back for Arthur at 9:15. Tulpin answered for Grand River a minute later and again the Attack pressed, only to be turned back by Price. At the other end of the floor, Grand River goalie Chelsea Doolittle held the fort during several dangerous Arthur forays. Finally, Tori Verbeek was able to solve Doolittle with less than a minute to go to make it 3-2 Grand River after 2.
One thing is for certain, the OWBLL has always had an exciting final to their season and this game was no different. The Attack had the lead, but you could see Arthur building their game, asserting their offence, taking the punishment to do what needed to be done. The Aces defence hadn't crumbled and kept their team in the game. The intermission between the 2nd & 3rd was quiet and tense. Anything could happen. The champs versus the upstarts, who would want it more?
That question was answered quickly into the third. First Brooke Whetstone 40 seconds into the period to tie the game for Arthur. Less than a minute later, call-up Taylor Collins put the Aces in the lead. For the next 9 minutes Grand River played a desperate catch-up game, but it was back and forth. As many chances as they had on Price, they gave up as many chances on Doolittle. The goaltending was outstanding. Collins scored again at 4:50 to put Arthur up 5-3. The Aces went into prevent mode and calmly controlled the play of the game. A few Attack chances here and there, but Price turned it all away. The final buzzer brought the Aces off the bench to mob their goalie and start the celebrations. Provincial champions. They knew they could do it.
Grand River was denied the three-peat, but it wasn't for a lack of effort using everything they had. I am certain they are going to want this one back next year. However, when Arthur came into the league a few years ago, they immediately established themselves as a team to be reckoned with. Now they are defending champs, and deservedly so. Next season is going to be some kind of fun indeed.