LORILEE MCKELVIE,
Special to The Standard
The North Durham Blades U13 team has had quite the hockey season. These girls have been busy, starting off in September 2021 with tryouts, exhibition games, in addition to league play and tournaments!
Led by Head Coach Mike Hamill and assistant coaches Eric Archambault, Jim McPhail, and Matt Sullivan, the U13B team had a successful season of league play, completing 24 games and finishing with a record of 20-2-2. They finished in first place in their division of the OWHL-Southern Loop and advanced to the quarter-finals against the Peterborough Ice Kats on March 24th.
The Blades defeated Peterborough 3-0 to move on to the semi-finals against the Georgina Golden Hawks on March 30th. With a full house to cheer them on at Scugog Arena, the ND Blades came out strong, scoring the first goal which went unanswered until the second period. After two fast-paced, intense periods the Golden Hawks took the lead with less than six minutes left in the game to defeat the Blades 5-1. Congratulations to the North Durham Blades U13 team for placing in the top four of 52 teams in the OWHL-Southern Division.
And their season is not done just yet! The North Durham Blades have also qualified for the Provincial Championship Tournament, on April 8-10th. They competed in 4 playdown games and won them all, defeating the Oshawa Lady Generals (6-1), the Clarington Flames (5-0), the Whitby Wolves (5-0), and Durham West Lightning (2-0). We wish them the best, as they take on the South Huron Sabres, the Burlington Barracudas, and the Cornwall Typhoons in round-robin play. Go Blades, Go!
A special ‘Thank-you’ goes out to the team trainer Jenny Carnaghan for taking care of the bumps and bruises on the bench and getting the girls back onto the ice safely. The Blades team would also like to thank the team sponsors: Pharmacy Associates of Port Perry, Tindall Farm & Market, Carncroft Farms, McPhail Farms, Boyer Auto Group, Spring Grove, and McKelvie Pro Maintenance for their generous contributions to the team.
As the season comes to an end, we would like to recognize the staff and the girls for working so hard this season. They have come together as a team, on and off the ice, building memories and friendships for years to come.
This has been an awesome season, from team dinners to treetop trekking, HARD tacos, SOFT tacos and two hard laps, the Ottawa tournament and the Senators game, team parties and karaoke!
Thanks to all the families for such a successful and memorable season!