2001
Canadian Ringette Championships
Semi-finals
and finals
April 6-7, 2001
Moncton, New Brunswick
Semi-finals
In Junior round-robin competition, Manitoba
remained undefeated with an 8-2 win over Ontario.
This ensured a bye to the finals for Manitoba
and gave Ontario a spot in the semi-final
game. British Columbia downed Saskatchewan
6-5 giving them the remaining semi-final spot.
In semi-final play, British Columbia downed
Ontario 6-3, giving Ontario the bronze and
moving British Columbia into the final against
Manitoba.
The end of Belle round-robin
competition saw previously undefeated Alberta
downed 7-6 in overtime by Saskatchewan. Even
with the loss, Alberta still got a bye to
the finals and Saskatchewan clinched a spot
in the semi-finals.
In other round-robin play, Ontario
downed British Columbia 6-4, giving Ontario
the remaining semi-final spot. In semi-final
play, Saskatchewan posted a 6-4 win over Ontario,
allowing Ontario to take home bronze and advancing
Saskatchewan into the final game against Alberta
tomorrow. In today's Open round-robin competition,
undefeated Alberta posted a 7-3 win over Quebec
to earn a bye to the finals. British Columbia
downed Manitoba 7-3 to clinch a spot in the
semi-finals. Saskatchewan defeated Ontario
3-2, which put them in a tie with Quebec and
forced a mini-game between the two teams.
The mini-game resulted in a 1-0 win over Saskatchewan,
sending Quebec to the semi-final game against
British Columbia. British Columbia captured
a 7-6 win, leaving Quebec with bronze and
earning a spot in the finals for British Columbia.
Over 500 athletes representing
30 teams from all provinces except Newfoundland
and the territories are competing for national
titles in three divisions - Junior (ages 14-15),
Belle (ages 16-18) and Open (ages 19 and over).
This year's championships represent
the 23rd annual competition for the sport.
Finals
The Manitoba Juniors and the Alberta Belle
and Open teams will be going home with gold
from the Tim Hortons 2001 Canadian Ringette
Championships that were held this week in
southeastern New Brunswick.
In Junior competition, Manitoba,
who were undefeated all week, downed British
Columbia 10-3. Winnipeg's Nicole Hekle captured
four goals and an assist in the game. Hekle
also led the scoring for her team during round-robin
play with 14 goals and five assists.
"I personally have had a very
good week, but I would be nothing without
my team," said Hekle admiring her gold medal.
"We have an extremely close team and we communicate
well with each other, which opens up the ice
for us."
In the Belle division, Alberta
posted a 4-1 win over Saskatchewan for the
gold. Calgary's Sheena Lawrick captured two
goals and an assist and Stacey McNichol, also
from Calgary, showed an outstanding performance
in nets.
When the two teams met in round-robin
play yesterday, there was a reverse outcome
with Saskatchewan coming away with a 7-6-overtime
win. "We have been strong from the beginning,
but we let up a little in our game yesterday
because we knew we were in the finals," noted
Sheena. "We learned a lesson from that and
knew that we had to come out strong today."
In the Open final, Alberta,
who were undefeated all week, posted a 5-2
win over British Columbia. Calgary's Lisa
Brown and Edmonton's Megan Todd each had a
pair of goals, with Calgary's Jodi Jensen
picking up the remaining goal, as well as
an assist.
When asked what contributed
to Alberta's success both throughout the week
and during the finals, Lisa Brown commented,
"We have a real powerhouse team and we are
particularly strong on defence. We focus on
possession in the neutral zone and we own
and control the ring." Brown also praised
the efforts of Alberta's goaltender Tamara
Anderson (Calgary).
"Tamara is an amazing goalie
and she gives the rest of the team a ton of
confidence."
Over 500 athletes representing
30 teams from all provinces except Newfoundland
and the territories have been competing for
national titles in three divisions - Junior
(ages 14-15), Belle (ages 16-18) and Open
(ages 19 and over).
This year's championships represent
the 23rd annual competition for the sport.
Please note that game schedules
and standings can be found on Ringette Canada's
Web site (www.ringette.ca/events/2001CRC.html).
reprinted with permission
