Mar 26, 2019 | Jon Fleming | 895 views
Kitchener Lady Rangers Intermediate A Take Silver at Provincials
This past weekend the team competed at the Intermediate A Provincial Championships. Fourteen teams from across the province competed for the top prize and the competition was fierce.
The Kitchener Lady Rangers Intermediate A team came into the Provincial finals as one of the favorites as the Western Division Champions. Play started on Friday against Peterborough, one of the top teams from the Eastern Division. It was a great game with both teams getting lots of chances and it finished in a 2-2 tie. Next we were up against North York and we outclassed them with our speed and skill for a 5-0 win. The highlight of the game for us was a short handed break away goal by Brooklyn Nunnikhoven. Brooke stole the puck from their D and put an amazing deke on their goalie to put the game out of reach. The next morning we were up against Ancaster from our own division. Ancaster started slow this season but steadily improved to the point where they were beating some of the top teams in our loop. They put up a strong fight but we were able to come out on top with a strong 2-0 win. Next up was the quarter final game against Hamilton, one of the few teams to beat us in the regular season. Hamilton's goalie has been dominant all season and despite being often outshot has always given her team a chance to win. We outshot them once again and the game was tied at 0-0 until Ashley Armstrong broke free at our blue line and went in on a break away, putting a great shot in the top corner to put our team up 1-0. That's how it finished in a strong game by both teams.
The semi-finals were at 8 am the next morning against Whitby, the Eastern division champions. We were able to get a quick start against this fast team and were up 3-0 going into the third period. Whitby's strong offence finally broke through mid way through the third to get their first goal. They added another late in the third but it was too little too late and we finished with a 3-2 win to put us into the finals.
In the finals we again faced Saugeen. The intensity and speed of the game was outstanding and the play went from end to end. Brittney Crawford was outstanding in net as the two teams exchanged scoring chances. The first period was a scoreless draw and early in the second period, Christy Fleming picked the puck up at centre and broke in down the left wing around their D, shot low on the goalie and chipped in the rebound for the first goal of the game. While we were celebrating and Saugeen was consoling their goalie, the ref signaled "No Goal". Everyone was surprised. The ref insisted the goalie had the puck covered but she hadn't blown the play dead. Regardless, the goal didn't count. (later review of the game video revealed a good goal - unfortunately, the ref was not in a position to see that the puck was not covered.) After that we pressed harder and both teams started to be called on questionable penalties. Saugeen arguably has the best power play of any of the Intermediate A teams and were able to eventually capitalize while we were in the box to take a 2-0 lead late in the third period. We pulled our goalie for the extra attacker and pressed hard to score. Unfortunately, we were unable to score and with a late empty net goal Saugeen finished with a 3-0 win to take the Championship. Of course the girls were very disappointed and felt somewhat cheated by the questionable calls; especially in a championship game.
Provincial Silver is still however a significant accomplishment and we had a very strong showing in the tournament. All of the girls battled hard to win but is was once again not meant to be. One last chance for a championship exists next weekend when the girls compete for the Lower Lakes Championship. Go KLRIA Go!