The EDSS senior girls’ hockey team dropped a shootout loss to Bluevale Collegiate Institute in the regional final on Tuesday.
The loss was the first one of the season for Lancers who were 18-0 on the season and had outscored their opponents by 56 goals over that span. That streak featured two wins over BCI, including a 3-2 overtime win in the regular season and 2-1 win in the WCSSAA final.
“It’s a sad way to lose in the shootout. But at the end of the day, they were a very good team, and it’s hard to beat a team three times. So it was our third attempt – we beat them the first two and lost out in a shootout, so is it a competitive game for sure when we play each other,” said coach Steven Karn of the loss in the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association (CWOSSA) final game.
The Lancers were up 2-0 after two periods on goals from Avery Grundy and Chloe Hislop they had the championship in sights when Claire Jacklin put them up by three early in the third. However BCI got goals from Avery Morton, Aubrie Martin and Reagan Hunsberger to tie it up.
Turnovers at inopportune times allowed the Knights to tie the game, Karn said.
“[Goaltender] Gwyneth [Martin] kept us in there lots and we missed some opportunities along the way, but these things happen in hockey. Momentum shifts and then I thought we did alright in the overtime: we had some chances to bury, just didn’t finish. But overall the girls kept pushing.
“It’s a sad way for one team to win and one team to lose in the shootout, but at the end of the day it happens somebody’s got to win somebody’s got to lose,” Karn added.
The Lancers may still have a chance at competing at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association championship (OFSAA), depending on circumstances.
The players have nothing to hold their heads down about, Karn said.
“The team in there is a great bunch of kids that worked hard all year and they gave lots of teams lots of trouble,” he added.
“We just told them it was a great season to be the only game we lost and have to go to a shootout to lose it. So they can hold their heads high and you know what, be positive and that we had a very successful year. They’re a resilient bunch, they’re all good with it.”
