By RYAN HORNE
This one stung a bit for Conestoga’s women’s extramural hockey team. A berth in the finals seemed imminent for the lady Condors during their extramural hockey tournament held at the recreation centre on Feb. 10. But, after a late goal and running into a hot goalie in the shootout, Conestoga was eliminated.
In the dying moments of their semifinal game against the St. Lawrence College Vikings, the Condors maintained a slim 1-0 lead. With their goalie pulled, the Vikings pressed and Joanne Dore managed to slip one past Conestoga’s goalie with just 24 seconds left in the third. The shootout was an exciting affair with players from both teams shooting at the same time as opposed to taking turns.
Vikings goalie, Amber Lapierre, stood on her head for St. Lawrence, not letting a single puck past her which sent her team to the championship game. She was named MVP of the game. Lapierre displayed her skills once again in the finals as the Vikings shut out Laurier 3-0.
Brandon Coyle, fourth-year coach for Conestoga, was disappointed with the late goal and loss, but was still proud of how his team performed considering the fact that they didn’t have a lot of time to practise prior to the tournament.
“The girls played well, this was probably one of our best games we’ve played,” said Coyle.
Conestoga defeated Laurier and Fleming earlier in the day and was dominating St. Lawrence for most of the game. Steph Baril got the puck sliding for the Condors in the first period by scoring the game’s first goal on what some thought was a blatant high stick. The refereeing was a major area of concern for both sides and fans alike. Numerous controversial calls and non-calls plagued the flow of the game.
“I was impressed,” said Coyle sarcastically. “It’s hit and miss in these tournaments, some refs really care and some don’t. It’s quite evident which ones don’t just by the calls they make.”
Coyle named Ali Young, who picked up an assist in the semifinal, the MVP for the Condors.
“She’s the leader in the room, she’s the leader everywhere,” he said.
The annual tournament featured colleges and universities from Ontario including Wilfrid Laurier, Mohawk, St. Lawrence and Fleming. This was the final tournament of the year for extramural hockey.
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