Mid-term hockey travels

Shawnigan hockey teams enjoyed an action-packed mid-term break.  With a Midget Varsity showcase on home ice plus trips to the U.S., teams enjoyed competition as well as exposure to high-level sport and culture.


Varsity Girls:

Shawnigan's varsity girls team gained valuable experience and exposure with a trip to the 2 Nations College Prep Series in Detroit, Mich.

Grouped with 42 teams from across North America, Shawnigan played to a 4-1 record against strong U.S. opponents.

For Coach Carly Haggard, the highlight was a 1-0 victory over Team Wisconsin, led by Gracie M.'s shutout performance.

The team also enjoyed a cultural tour of the Detroit area, including a trip to the Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins game at Joe Louis Arena.

 

The team opened play on Oct. 27 with a matchup against a much bigger and older New England all-star team. We lost 5-0, however the guys played hard and didn't give up right until the last whistle.

A 9 a.m. start against the Junior Bruins the next day proved frustrating for the boys. We lost 2-0 despite outshooting our opponents. A 5 p.m. start versus the No. 1-ranked U-18 team in the entire U.S. was intimidating for our guys, but they handled it courageously and generated our best performance of the trip. After opening the scoring, Shawnigan eventually succumbed to this powerhouse team from New Jersey, though guys left the arena with their heads held high after a 4-1 loss.

On Oct. 29, the team worked and battled hard and finally earned a much deserved win to wrap up tournament play and head into the "tour" portion of the trip on a high note.

Stops on the tour included museums and the Old North Church, Fenway Park, Bunker Hill and Paul Revere's residence. The boys also visited Boston College and Harvard University, seeing the institutions and their hockey programs up-close. They enjoyed watching NCAA matchups (UNH vs. Merrimack and Brown vs. Providence) and experiencing the stunning atmosphere of college hockey games.

Players, families and coaches are all very thankful to Shawnigan for providing the opportunity to experience such a great tour. The players represented the school in as good of a fashion as we could possibly ask for! Thank you to all of those involved in making this happen.

 

– Coach James Pollock

 

 

Shawnigan's two midget varsity teams hosted Kelowna's Pursuit of Excellence and Coeur D'Alene Hockey Academy for seven regular-season games at the Charlie Purdey Arena, Nov. 4-6.

Varsity Black earned victories in all three games, beating Coeur D'Alene 10-4 and 5-0 and edging Pursuit 3-2 thanks to an overtime goal from Brett R.

Varsity Gold dropped three straight games, falling 5-1 and 7-1 to Pursuit and 4-3 to Coeur D'Alene, before salvaging the weekend with an exciting 5-4 win over Coeur D'Alene.