The Waterloo Ravens U15 HL2 team recently took part in the "Panthers on the Prowl" tournament in St. Thomas from December 6th to 8th.The weekend was one of growth in many ways.
The Ravens began the tourney with a lopsided win in game 1. For a team that had struggled offensively all season, the offensive outburst was amazing to see. In addition to the goal-scoring prowess, the coaches were proud to see many leadership moments in the game. Not only were the players respectful enough to not celebrate goals once the game was out of hand, but without prompting, the players took the opportunity to help some teammates score their first goal of the season. The result? Two girls notched their first!
In the second game, the girls focused on playing shutdown hockey. They picked their spot on two timely placed goals to fend off a strong effort from the team they would eventually face in the finals.
Saturday morning was a tougher challenge against a very physical team. Despite some questionable conduct, the girls fought hard the entire game, dominated much of it, and never lost their composure. It was a close loss, but they held their heads high knowing that a late night quarterfinal game was in their future.
Saturday night the Ravens took to the ice for the quarterfinal against the tournament hosts, with a chance to extend their weekend. A 9-hour gap between games would pose a challenge, as would the 9:30PM start time. Many of these Ravens are typically in bed before the game would end, some even before the start! The Ravens put aside these challenges and focused on the task at hand. Amazing things happen in hockey when a team controls puck possession for most of the game. The girls were able to poke one past an outstanding goaltender, and celebrated the chance to play in the semifinal on Sunday.
Sunday morning's semifinal was against the top team from the other division. The girls were thrilled to see "The Biebs" cheering them on in the form of a cutout taped behind their bench, which would ultimately become their team mascot. The team again took many strides forward in this game, dominating play for much of the game. After building a 4-0 lead, the Ravens held strong in their end and gave up few chances. Despite a short period of time during which the opponents held the momentum, the Ravens took back control with a critical 5th goal, and a bar-down 6th to take the game 6-2 and the right to play in the finals.
Whether it was a win or loss on Sunday afternoon, the team had accomplished SO MUCH through the first 5 games over 3 days. They bonded, and without saying as much, were all willing to do what it would take to win as a team. Ravens were playing disciplined positional hockey, backchecking like the pros, taking calculated risks, blocking shots, and sharing the biscuit. With The Biebs watching, the Ravens put on another dominant performance. They controlled possession and pace of play throughout the game and were rarely on their heels, giving up less than a handful of opportunities to their opponents. A few critical saves from the tendy, and some perfectly timed goals gave the Ravens their 4th shutout of the tournament, and were crowned tournament champions!
On behalf of the coaching staff, it was an absolute pleasure to see this team grow over the weekend, and witness their success. Every single player stepped up when they needed to, with as many as eight teammates recording their first goal of the season.
Congratulations Ravens on a championship weekend! This weekend's success was far more than the medal you earned.