Two Maple Ridge girls were part of the Surrey Falcons team that went undefeated to win the provincial bantam A female hockey championship in Fort St. John last week.
Emily Duchak and Emma Hall helped the Falcons down the North Shore Avalanche 5-1 Thursday in the championship final.
The Falcons were up 2-0 after the first period at the Pomeroy Sport Centre, and built on that lead with two more goals in the second and one in the third.
Duchak had two assists in the final game. She recorded a goal and four assists in Surrey’s seven games at the provincials. Hall had six goals and an assist in seven games.
The Falcons opened the provincials Sunday with a 5-1 win over South Island. Surrey then defeated North Shore 4-3 Monday morning.
That night, Surrey downed host team Clearview 8-0.
The Falcons defeated Williams Lake 6-2 on Tuesday, then edged Castlegar 4-3 on Wednesday, securing a berth in the championship final. Surrey cruised to a 5-0 win over Kamloops in the morning Thursday. North Shore, as the top seed and Lower Mainland playoff champion, did not have to play another game that day.
The final was a rough affair, but North Shore could not match the energy or determination of the Falcons, who killed off 16 minutes in penalties and contained the Avalanche’s potent offence.
“The girls were determined throughout the week to come out on top,” said Falcons assistant coach Boyd Stoppler. “Everyone contributed and put the team first. They refused to be denied of the championship. It’s a very special group.”
Surrey finished second in league play and in the league playoffs, behind North Shore in both. Surrey won a tournament in Richmond early in the season, then came second at Wickfest in Calgary in November, losing to North Shore in the final. The Falcons also won a tournament in San Jose in January, and several weeks later won the Superhearts tournament in Surrey, defeating North Shore in the final in a shootout.
The Falcons went 7-0 at the provincials to claim the Surrey female association’s second B.C. banner.
