The Final Countdown

Saturday was the big day for the 2020 Female World Sport School Challenge as the majority of teams would finish their tournaments on that day with the bronze- and gold-medal games being played on Sunday. Sixteen teams would be reduced to four over one day as consolation games were played out while the top team in each of the four pools advanced to the medal round. The final results for the tournament are found below, so let's get started because there's a lot to go over.

Here are the results from the consolation games on Saturday.

• 15th-Place Game - Pilot Mound Buffaloes defeat the Vancouver Island Seals 3-1. Sydney Odowichuk scored twice before this game was called with 12:19 left in the third period due to a scary incident. I'll have more on this below.
• 13th-Place Game - Minnesota Ice Cougars downed the Thompson Okanagan Lakers 6-4. Abby Promersberger scored four goals for Minnesota in the victory to overcome two goals and an assist by Makenna Howe of the Lakers.
• 11th-Place Game - Eastman Selects beat the Calgary Fire 5-4 in a shootout. Kylie Lesuk had two goals and an assist to power the Selects to victory.
• 9th-Place Game - Red Deer Sutterfund Chiefs defeat the Westman Wildcats 4-1. Kylie Perry had two assists while Ridleigh Hansen made 20 saves for the win.
• 7th-Place Game - Thunder Bay Queens downed the Rocky Mountain Raiders 4-3 in a shootout. Defender Kendra Fortin had a goal and two assists for the Queens while Kaia Borbandy scored twice for the Raiders.
• 5th-Place Game - Lloydminster PMW Steelers defeat the Winnipeg Ice 4-2. Jadynn Morden had two goals while teammate Avery Gilby had a pair of helpers for the Steelers.

As mentioned above, there was a very scary incident in the game between the Buffaloes and Seals as forward Andrea Olafsdottir from the Buffaloes suffered a major leg injury. On behalf of the tournament, the fans, the coaches, and the players, I want to pass along our good wishes for a speedy recovery for Andrea, and our thoughts are with her in what appears will be a long recovery. The good news, on behalf of the Buffaloes, is that she was in good spirits and was back to her chatty self once settled at the hospital. We're with you on this journey, Andrea, and we hope to see back on the ice stronger, faster, and with the same passion for the game as before!

Before we get to the semifinals and the bronze- and gold-medal games, the 2020 Female World Sport School Challenge All-Stars were announced at the banquet, and these six players were key in the successes of their teams at the tournament.

From left to right, your 2020 Female World Sport School Challenge All-Stars are Rocky Mountain Raiders goaltender Ali Kieran, Winnipeg Avros defender Rachel Gottfried, Thunder Bay Queens forward Brenna Nicol, St. Mary's Academy Flames forward Ashley Keller, Northern Alberta X-Treme forward Abby Soyko, and Northern Alberta X-Treme defender Andie Proulx. Congratulations to these six players on their outstanding performances at the tournament!

The first semifinal game was an all-Winnipeg match-up as the St. Mary's Academy Flames were looking for their second-straight trip to the gold-medal final against the MFMHL's best team in the Winnipeg Avros! It was a rather chippy affair at times between the two teams as the referee seemingly was content to allow the teams to decide who would win either through goals or last-player-standing rules, but Ashley Keller opened the scoring with a shorthanded marker that beat Jordan Mackow. Katrina Tobin would tie the game on a shot that Emily Shippam should have had, but she deflected it up and over her and it landed in the net behind her. The game-winning goal would come via a great rush that saw Aimee Patrick find some room past Mackow, and the St. Mary's Academy Flames would move on to compete for the gold medal via the 2-1 score while the Winnipeg Avros would have to regroup in the bronze-medal game.


*please note that due to technical issues, first period action is not available.

The second semifinal was an all-Edmonton match-up as the Northern Alberta X-Treme met the Edmonton Pandas with a berth to the gold-medal game on the line. The Pandas got goals from defender Alexandra Black, forward Jacquelyn Fleming, and forward Natalie Buttle while Pandas netminder Elise Hugens stopped all shots except for one off the stick of Robyn Short as the Pandas continued their undefeated play at the tournament with a 3-1 win to advance to the gold-medal game while Northern Alberta would move to the bronze-medal game in the defeat.

The bronze-medal game saw the Winnipeg Avros meet the Northern Alberta X-Treme as the two teams looked to finish the tournament on a high note with a win and some hardware. The Avros carried a 3-1 lead into the third period in what looked like a game the Winnipeg club had a hold on, but three third-period goals by the X-Treme and one more by the Avros sent this game into overtime tied up at 4-4! In the extra frame, the X-Treme would find the back of the net to claim the bronze medal via the 5-4 overtime victory!

Brooklyn Moore had herself a day for the X-Treme, contributing on all five NAX goals with a pair of lamp-lighters to go along with three helpers while Abby Soyko had a goal and two assists and Allie Soyko had three assists. Paige Ring and Hannah Prinsen rounded out the scoring for Northern Alberta. On the Winnipeg side, Trinity Grove, Taylor Wuirch-Coombs, Norah Collins, and Hayley Johnson all had singles for the Avros who finished fourth in the tournament.

The gold-medal game pitted the St. Mary's Academy Flames - last year's silver medalists - against the Edmonton Pandas in a game that was played at an incredible pace from start to finish. The teams were squared at 1-1 - goals from Edmonton's Sage Taylor and St. Mary's Reese Chuback - heading into the third period when Sage Taylor broke the tie with a great shot from the right hash marks that found the inside of the far post just over the pad of netminder Meagan Relf to put the Pandas up 2-1. Moments later before the buzz had worn off over Taylor's goal, the Pandas scored again as it appeared that Rian Santos scored on the deflection, but the goal was credited to Jacquelyn Fleming. Jessica Haner would pull the Flames within one goal late in the game, but an empty-net goal by Emerson Jarvis - incorrectly credited to Chloe Reid - would ice this game and give the Pandas the gold medal in a 4-2 victory! The St. Mary's Academy Flames would earn their second-straight silver medal at this tournament!


*please note that due to technical issues, first period action is not available.

An incredible tournament came to a close early Sunday afternoon, and I have to say that the future of Canadian women's hockey is bright with the performances seen at the tournament's four days of play. To all sixteen teams, I thank you for providing an amazing weekend of hockey action that kept me entertained all weekend, and I hope to see a pile of you next season either in Canada West or back here for the 2021 Female World Sport School Challenge!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!