BROOKLYN, N.S. — Although the Avon View Avalanche’s girls’ hockey team was unsuccessful in capturing a medal, the tournament organizer couldn’t be more pleased with how successful the event is becoming.
Teams from across the province — plus one from New Brunswick — took part in the third Avalanche-hosted invitational in Brooklyn on Feb. 22-23.
“It’s been very exciting, very close competition between all of the teams,” said Darrin Verge, who organized the tournament.
Competing were the Avalanche, Auburn Drive Eagles, C.P. Allen Cheetahs, Halifax West Warriors, Lockview Dragons, Sir John A. Flames, Tantramar Lady Titans, and the West Kings Wolverines.
“I think we have a very good varsity team here and a very good program,” said Verge, noting that teams were eager to compete at the tournament.
“With this new arena here in Brooklyn, it’s really putting us back on the map.”
For Verge, the highlight of the tournament was seeing young fans cheering on the athletes.
“The thing that I was impressed with was the middle school and the elementary school came down yesterday (Feb. 22) and filled the arena and supported the Avon View girls’ hockey team. I was very excited to see all the young people here.”
Halifax West opened the tournament with a game against Auburn, winning 3-2.
Avon View was up next and took on Tantramar, losing in the shootout 1-0.
West Kings and Sir John A. tangoed, with the Wolverines emerging with a 3-2 victory.
C.P. Allen defeated Lockview 3-2, and Halifax West downed Sir John A. 7-4.
Auburn then took on West Kings and defeated the Valley squad 3-2. C.P. Allen followed that up with a convincing 6-1 victory over Tantramar.
The final game of the day was between Avon View and Lockview. The Windsor-based team took a 1-0 lead thanks to Brittany Poole, but then the Dragons rallied with a pair of goals, including one late in the third period, to register the victory.
West Kings started off play Feb. 23 when they took on Halifax West. The city team won 9-0, eliminating the Wolverines from playoffs.
The two losses on Friday put the Avon View Avalanche in a difficult position when they came up against C.P. Allen Saturday morning. They had to garner at least one point in the standings if they hoped to make the playoffs, but the Cheetahs outscored the Avalanche 6-0, with the main push taking place in the third period, to win the game and finish 3-0-0 in the round-robin portion of their schedule.
Auburn won 3-2 over Sir John A., and the final game before crossovers saw Tantramar defeat Lockview. The score was unknown as of press time.
Division crossovers pitted C.P. Allen against Auburn and Halifax West against Tantramar.
The final was a battle between two Halifax teams, with Halifax West defeating C.P. Allen 2-0 to win the tournament.
The Avon View Avalanche are now looking ahead to the Western Zone Regional High School Girls’ Hockey Championship in Bridgetown March 1-2. While being a heavy favourite, the girls are fully aware they will have to address recent offensive struggles if they hope to advance to the provincials, which will be held in Pictou County March 8-10.
~ with files from Dan Boyd