The final day of preliminary action concluded for the Women’s National U18 Championships yesterday, setting up a hard-fought semifinal bracket to crown a national champion at the Canada Summit Centre this weekend. Three of the day’s four games were settled in overtime, with each contest having significant implications in the standings. Ontario Red finished in top spot in Group A (eight points) with Manitoba coming in second (five points), while Ontario Blue came out on top in Group B (seven points) ahead of British Columbia (five points). In both groups, the third place team missed semi finals and a chance to play for a medal by a single point, as Quebec and Atlantic both finished with four points each and identical 1-1-1 records.
In total, 10 of the 12 preliminary games in the 2015 championship have been decided by a single goal, highlighting just how competitive this tournament has become in recent years.
With elimination games starting today, Saskatchewan will play Alberta for 7th place at 10:30 am while Atlantic will take on Quebec for 5th place at 1:30 pm. In semifinal action, Ontario Blue hosts Manitoba at 4:30 pm and Ontario Red welcomes BC at 7:30 pm, with the winner of each playing for gold tomorrow at 4:30 pm. The losers of each semifinal will square off for the bronze medal in the early game Sunday at 12:30 pm.
British Columbia enthusiastically celebrates a decisive late-period goal during their afternoon game on Friday
In their final round-robin game, Quebec did everything they could to punch their ticket to the finals, pulling out a thrilling 3-2 regulation win over Saskatchewan despite being heavily outshot 30-18. Amélie Lemay, Alice Fillion and Deziray De Sousa all scored for Quebec, while netminder Édith D’Astous-Moreau made 28 saves to pull Quebec even with Manitoba in the Group A standings.
In game two, Atlantic needed a win over Alberta to advance to the next stage, and looked to be in good shape given Alberta’s record through their first two games (0-2-0, one goal for). After three scoreless periods, however, it was the West who would prove best as Tianna Ko batted a puck out of midair for the overtime winner, giving her team their first win of the tournament. Both goalies were sensational in making 46 combined saves on 47 shots through nearly 63 minutes of play, and despite the loss Atlantic still picked up a point in the standings to move temporarily into second place In Group B.
Ontario Red netminder Stephanie Neatby was perfect in relief on Friday as her team scored three third-period goals in a 5-4 comeback victory
Challenging Atlantic for a coveted spot in the semis was British Columbia, who needed a win against top-seeded Ontario Blue to move on in the third game of the day. What initially seemed improbable against a team that had yet to lose slowly became reality, as BC scored three goals on the powerplay – two from Leona Sim in regulation and the game-winner by Kirsten Martin in overtime – to secure second place in the group, much to the disappointment of Atlantic.
The last game to be played on Thursday between Ontario Red and Manitoba had a similar narrative, with Manitoba coming into the match tied with Quebec and needing just a single point to advance. After scoring once in the first period and three times in the second to take a commanding 4-1 lead, it looked to be a sure bet for Manitoba to move on after another upset to a previously undefeated team. Unlike their provincial counterparts, Ontario Red refused to concede defeat, and roared back with three unanswered goals in a seven minute span in the late stages of the third to force overtime, where Saroya Tinker completed the comeback in a dramatic 5-4 victory.
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