Sports

Orangeville U11 BB Tigers win PWHA Provincial Championship

May 4, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Orangeville Tigers U11 BB team are champions, having won the 2023 Ontario Women’s Hockey Association provincial championship on Sunday, April 16.

The Tigers qualified to go to the provincials in March after winning a best-of-three series over the Grand River Mustangs.

In the championship tournament, the Tigers started with a 2-1 win over Leaside.

In game two of the competition, they were up against Flamborough in a game that ended in a 2-2 tie.

On the second day of competition, the Tigers won 2-0 over Sarnia to earn first place in their pool and a spot in the quarter-finals later in the day. A 2-1 win over Oakville in the quarter-final allowed them to advance to the semi-finals on Sunday morning.

They earned the right to advance to the gold medal game with a 3-1 win over Bluewater.

That set them up for a final showdown with London.

In the final game, the Tigers were down 2-0 after the second period. They blazed into the third period, scoring three goals to win the game 3-2 and claim the provincial title.

The Tigers U11 BB girls had a successful season winning five medals in tournaments this season.

“The team, right from the beginning, had grit and drive,” said Tigers head coach Dan Schenkel. “It showed right away from the first tournament we were in, with a shut-out win and an overtime win to capture our first gold medal. We finished the year with two gold medals and three silver medals in the tournaments we entered. To get to the OWHA provincial championship, we had to go through what we called our ‘nemesis’ team – the Grand River Mustangs – and I’m sure the feeling was mutual. We played this team all year and battled them in tournaments in league play. These teams went back and fourth all year long. We were successful in beating them in our three game series, 2-0, to punch our ticket to the OWHA provincial tournament.”

Dan said the U11 team played a controlled game at the provincials. For some players, it was their second time playing at the provincial level, while for others, it was their first time.

“Their game included puck control, not just slapping the puck away,” Dan said. “We always preached to take your time with the puck and just don’t slap the puck away. Their game was passing to the open player. The team, for their age, were very good at passing and using their points, D to D passes, and effective breakouts.”

Dan coached the team along with assistant coaches Derek Meeker and Craig Daley, development coach Mike Kosziwka and trainers Shannon von Rode and Inga Layman.

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