News
The CBC Hockey Night in Canada's Play On! National Championship event took place this past weekend on Belleville Street, at the inner harbour in front of the provincial legislature building in Victoria BC.
Thirty teams from across the country financed their own travel to the event in order to compete in this tournament, which was a culmination of the twelve large-scale events held across Canada during the summer of 2009, and a program that is now Canada's largest sports festival.
The first day of action saw each team play three games, with incredible parity. Weather was a factor, as a light rain drizzle led to very slippery asphalt. More aggressive teams, like the Halifax Bar Stars and London Red Team seemed to struggle in this environment, while teams such as the Thamesford Top Gun, Burnaby Frog Legs, and Ottawa 67's proved to be much better than expected. The real surprise team of the first day however was the LaLoche (Saskatchewan) Rejects, a First Nations team from North Eastern Saskatchewan who beat both the Calgary event champions (Calgary Phantoms) and the Vancouver 2009 event champions (Surrey Sha-tans) handily in their first two games. Other big wins throughout the day were posted by the home team Victoria CCCP, who knocked off the defending national champion Oshawa Bulls 5-2 in a well-officiated game watched by hundreds of local screaming fans.
On the women's side, the Vancouver Wildcats were clearly the class of the event. Though the competition was intense and the games close, they were the only women's team to go undefeated in day 1 action.
Heading into day 2, and for the second consecutive year, the Winnipeg Iceberg were the #1 men's seed. Young, skilled, and very fast, with a former World Champion Goaltender (Scott Cameron) on their side, the Iceberg were the team that everyone was talking about. The #2 Seed was the Ottawa 67's, followed by the #3 Montreal Red Phoenix and #4 Burnaby Frog Legs. All four of these teams were undefeated in the first day of action.
The first big upset of the day came when the London Red Team - a team that organizers suggested might fly under the radar this weekend - upset Burnaby 5-3 in a game that was really decided in the final thirty seconds of play. The #8 Victoria CCCP were clearly on a roll, winning big in their first match and then scraping by a feisty Richmond team in a thrilling shootout, setting up a highly anticipated game with the Winnipeg Iceberg.
When asked about this Victoria team, Winnipeg captain Kevin Marchuk stated: "They were the one team that we were a little worried about." The nervous anxiety must have played a role, as the CCCP and their ever growing fan-base sent Winnipeg home with a 4-2 defeat.
The first semi-final pitted the 3-Time Play On! Vancouver champion, and 6th seeded Vancouver Ball Hoggz vs. the #2 Seeded Ottawa 67's (who had just dispatched of the Oshawa Bulls in a tight quarter final matchup.) As the 67's had easily set aside the Ball Hoggz in their first game of the tournament, 7-3, perhaps they were over confident heading into this one. The action was fantastic, but the Ball Hoggz jumped out to an early lead. The 67's battled furiously in the second half, but couldn't overcome the early deficit, and the Hoggz held on for a 5-4 victory.
Semi-final #2 pitted those home town Victoria CCCP against the two-time Play On! Calgary champions, the fifth-seeded Calgary Phantoms. Victoria was clearly out of gas after so many big wins, and playing an extra game seemed to be the difference in this matchup. The Phantoms moved to the final with a 5-2 victory.
The women's final saw the Vancouver Wildcats match up with the Winnipeg Drillers in a game watched by hundreds of fans. The Vancouver goaltender made Team Canada (Olympic) goalie Kim St. Pierre look average with some of the saves she made, and the Wildcats became the first women's team to ever win the Redwood Cup, holding on for a 3-1 Victory.
Over 700 fans were on hand to watch the Men's final. A scoreless first half suggested that both teams were timid, and the action was conservative. The teams exchanged goals, and when Calgary took a 2-1 lead with five minutes to go in the second half, it looked like it may be over. It wasn't. Smitter Kaila sniped a pretty goal right inside the post, low on the stick side, to tie the game with about two minutes left. Then, with under thirty seconds to go, Marcel Lafortune scored the $10,000 winner, one that the Calgary netminder would certainly like to have back.
Congratulations go out to the 2009 National Champion Vancouver Ball Hoggz, who were awarded the Redwood Cup, the $10,000 grand prize, and recognized during CBC Hockey Night in Canada's after hours as Canada's Greatest Street Hockey Players.
We look forward to another exciting summer of Play On! events in 2010. Look for the schedule to be announced, and for online registration to open, in early March.
Play On!
Thirty teams from across the country financed their own travel to the event in order to compete in this tournament, which was a culmination of the twelve large-scale events held across Canada during the summer of 2009, and a program that is now Canada's largest sports festival.
The first day of action saw each team play three games, with incredible parity. Weather was a factor, as a light rain drizzle led to very slippery asphalt. More aggressive teams, like the Halifax Bar Stars and London Red Team seemed to struggle in this environment, while teams such as the Thamesford Top Gun, Burnaby Frog Legs, and Ottawa 67's proved to be much better than expected. The real surprise team of the first day however was the LaLoche (Saskatchewan) Rejects, a First Nations team from North Eastern Saskatchewan who beat both the Calgary event champions (Calgary Phantoms) and the Vancouver 2009 event champions (Surrey Sha-tans) handily in their first two games. Other big wins throughout the day were posted by the home team Victoria CCCP, who knocked off the defending national champion Oshawa Bulls 5-2 in a well-officiated game watched by hundreds of local screaming fans.
On the women's side, the Vancouver Wildcats were clearly the class of the event. Though the competition was intense and the games close, they were the only women's team to go undefeated in day 1 action.
Heading into day 2, and for the second consecutive year, the Winnipeg Iceberg were the #1 men's seed. Young, skilled, and very fast, with a former World Champion Goaltender (Scott Cameron) on their side, the Iceberg were the team that everyone was talking about. The #2 Seed was the Ottawa 67's, followed by the #3 Montreal Red Phoenix and #4 Burnaby Frog Legs. All four of these teams were undefeated in the first day of action.
The first big upset of the day came when the London Red Team - a team that organizers suggested might fly under the radar this weekend - upset Burnaby 5-3 in a game that was really decided in the final thirty seconds of play. The #8 Victoria CCCP were clearly on a roll, winning big in their first match and then scraping by a feisty Richmond team in a thrilling shootout, setting up a highly anticipated game with the Winnipeg Iceberg.
When asked about this Victoria team, Winnipeg captain Kevin Marchuk stated: "They were the one team that we were a little worried about." The nervous anxiety must have played a role, as the CCCP and their ever growing fan-base sent Winnipeg home with a 4-2 defeat.
The first semi-final pitted the 3-Time Play On! Vancouver champion, and 6th seeded Vancouver Ball Hoggz vs. the #2 Seeded Ottawa 67's (who had just dispatched of the Oshawa Bulls in a tight quarter final matchup.) As the 67's had easily set aside the Ball Hoggz in their first game of the tournament, 7-3, perhaps they were over confident heading into this one. The action was fantastic, but the Ball Hoggz jumped out to an early lead. The 67's battled furiously in the second half, but couldn't overcome the early deficit, and the Hoggz held on for a 5-4 victory.
Semi-final #2 pitted those home town Victoria CCCP against the two-time Play On! Calgary champions, the fifth-seeded Calgary Phantoms. Victoria was clearly out of gas after so many big wins, and playing an extra game seemed to be the difference in this matchup. The Phantoms moved to the final with a 5-2 victory.
The women's final saw the Vancouver Wildcats match up with the Winnipeg Drillers in a game watched by hundreds of fans. The Vancouver goaltender made Team Canada (Olympic) goalie Kim St. Pierre look average with some of the saves she made, and the Wildcats became the first women's team to ever win the Redwood Cup, holding on for a 3-1 Victory.
Over 700 fans were on hand to watch the Men's final. A scoreless first half suggested that both teams were timid, and the action was conservative. The teams exchanged goals, and when Calgary took a 2-1 lead with five minutes to go in the second half, it looked like it may be over. It wasn't. Smitter Kaila sniped a pretty goal right inside the post, low on the stick side, to tie the game with about two minutes left. Then, with under thirty seconds to go, Marcel Lafortune scored the $10,000 winner, one that the Calgary netminder would certainly like to have back.
Congratulations go out to the 2009 National Champion Vancouver Ball Hoggz, who were awarded the Redwood Cup, the $10,000 grand prize, and recognized during CBC Hockey Night in Canada's after hours as Canada's Greatest Street Hockey Players.
We look forward to another exciting summer of Play On! events in 2010. Look for the schedule to be announced, and for online registration to open, in early March.
Play On!
