Belden Senior Ladies Win Provincial Gold Hockey
The Cobourg Belden Senior BB Ladies team won the gold medal for the second straight year at the 2019 OWHA Provincial Championships April 5-7, 2019. The team went 5-0 against teams from all over Ontario and only trailed in a game once during the entire tournament.
Cobourg played twice on Friday, beating Leaside 4-0 and Waterloo 2-1. Kristy MacDonald led the way with three goals between the two games while Megan Samis and Amber Cane split the goaltending duties and allowed only one shot to beat them all day. They wrapped up the opening set of games with a convincing 5-0 win over Owen Sound, earning a bye through to the semi-finals on Sunday.
They faced Peterborough in the semi-finals Sunday morning, winning 2-0 thanks to great goaltending from Amber Cane as well as goals from Kelly Peterson and April Looije. This win meant they would play Woodstock who they beat last season in the 2018 gold medal game, but who beat Cobourg at a tournament in London earlier this season.
Woodstock came out flying and scored with 9:28 to go in the first period, breaking Cobourg’s shutout streak, which had lasted since the second period of their Friday night game against Waterloo. Woodstock held the lead until early in the second period despite multiple chances at each end. Early in the second period, Kelly Peterson forced a turnover in the Woodstock zone and scored to tie the game – her team leading 5th goal and 8th point of the tournament. Two more goals by Megan McNutt and Kayla Palmateer were all Cobourg needed in the hard-fought game to win the gold.
The coaching staff were thoroughly impressed by the effort and determination of the team throughout the tournament. “I couldn’t be more proud of all these girls,” said Coach, Jen Ashley. “Every single player rose to the occasion giving it their all and supporting each other. The final was probably the best game I’ve ever seen them play. It was truly inspiring.”
Coach Ron Samis felt similarly, saying that he was “very pleased with the result. They are a great group of players and I couldn’t be happier for them. They fully committed to team defense and it showed with only two goals against in the whole tournament. I’m grateful that I was able to be a part of it.”
The team is extremely thankful for the generous support of Belden Canada Inc. who sponsored the team for a third straight season and made it possible for the girls to represent Cobourg in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League and tournaments all over Ontario.
Submitted By: Cobourg Senior Ladies Hockey Team
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love