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Mr Figueroa

The JV and U-14 teams take a group photo after a hard fought game.

Last week, the JV and Varsity hockey teams went to the island, to play at the Ross Cup hosted by Brentwood. Hopes were high as the Junior Varsity team were heading into the Ross Cup. They started off the tournament with a blowout win against the host team Brentwood with a final score of 6-1.

The next game they played the U-14 Saints team. This was a huge game for both teams, as whoever won this game was most likely going to have a spot in the finals. The winner would also have the bragging rights until next season. In an exhibition game between the two teams, two weeks previous, the U-14’s beat the JV team 4-3. The U-14’s came out extremely confident, scoring 4 unanswered goals, draining the morale of the JV squad. However, the JV players started to turn the game around in the second period, (there were no 3rd periods in the tournament, only 2.) scoring 2 quick goals. In the final 1:30 minutes, Graham Fishman, a JV winger, scored to make it a one goal game. As the clock winded down, the puck was dumped down the ice by the U-14 team, and Connor Chiu, the JV goalie came flying out of the net to beat a U-14 forward to the puck. Connor beat him to the puck, but it bounced out of his gear, and the U-14 squad were able to seal the game with a final score of 5-3.

Although it was a tough loss, the JV team still had a chance at the finals, but they had to win every single period in their next 2 games due to the way the point system worked. Their next game was against Kitsilano, the JV team had no problem beating them multiple times throughout the season, and nothing changed in this game as they won with a final score of 5-0.

The final game of the round robin would decide who would make it to the finals to face U-14 Saints team, the game was between the JV team and Prince of Wales. The only way the JV team had a shot at making the finals was by winning both periods and having the same or less amount of penalties as PW. Only minutes into the first period, PW scored, making it even harder for the JV team. Unfortunately for them, time wasn’t on their side and the period ended 1-0. Although the JV squad knew they wouldn’t be able to make the finals, they were still determined to beat PW to finish off the year with a win. The second period was hard fought, and with about 5 minutes to go, the JV Saints tied up the game at 1-1. Both teams battled for the victory, however, neither team was able to find the back of the net, and the game ended as a tie.

In the finals, the U-14 team fell behind quick and were down 2-0 within the first few minutes of the game. Later in the game, PW were able to scored another goal, making it 3-0. However, the U-14 squad weren’t ready to roll over. They scored two goals in the 2nd period to make it a one goal game. As the clocked ticked down with under 2 minutes to go, the U-14’s pulled the goalie. PW were able to score on the empty net, and everyone thought that would be the end of the game. Although, within seconds, the U-14’s scored making it 4-3. However, it was too little too late. They went all out to try and score another to tie the game but time ran out, giving PW the victory.

That Thursday the St. George’s Varsity hockey team participated in the annual Ross Cup hosted by Brentwood College School. The team took a night ferry over to the island on Thursday night, to ensure the team was rested up for the 9:00am game on Friday morning. The first game they opposed Brentwood 1 and won a good game, 3-2. Later that day, the team played against long time rivals, Kitsilano however the St. George’s came through with a 5-1 win. The team played very well throughout the whole tournament with points spread across the score sheet with just about every player on the team.

The final day, the varsity team played two qualifying games; the first against Brentwood 2 with a 6-3 win and the second against Kitsilano again, coming out with a 7-4 win. Their hard work and perseverance throughout the past 4 games put the team in good standing, thus landing them in the finals against rival school, Prince of Whales. The two teams had played many games against each other during the regular season with wins and losses for each team. This game was sure to be a steady matchup and a tough game. As the game progressed, we found ourselves at the end of regulation time, both teams still scoreless. This led to overtime, where both teams sent out lines of 3 for high competitiveness matchups. The nail biter that was OT finally came to an end still scoreless, which sent the final game of the Ross Cup to shootout. Prince of Whales ended up winning in the eighth round of shootout.

Overall, the St. George’s Varsity hockey team played a great, hard fought tournament, but was very unlucky to be stripped of their Ross Cup trophy, which was earned the year before. Goalies Jonah Dutz and Liam Ross played well throughout the duration of the tournament and kept the team in at key times. It was unfortunate for the team to lose in such close circumstances. Good luck next year boys!