One of the best kept secrets in Sooke sports is the powerhouse known as the Sooke Girls Midget C hockey team. Last season the girls won both the regular season and playoff banners without losing a single league game along the way.
This season they once again ran away with the regular season banner, losing only one game, a meaningless affair against the last place team on the last day of the season. In the semi-finals they faced a determined Campbell River team and came away with a 4-0 victory.
The final was set for Sunday, March 8, and the cards were stacked against the Sooke team as they were facing a Nanaimo team in Nanaimo with Nanaimo referees.
They were also facing a top notch goaltender they had not seen all season. The game started poorly for the Sooke girls as they fell behind 3-0 in the first period, despite clearly dominating the play.
In the first minute of the second period Nanaimo scored again to increase the lead to 4-0. Sooke finally beat the Nanaimo goalie five minutes into the second period, and that’s when the fun started. Sooke scored four more unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead. A questionable penalty late in the third period gave Nanaimo a power play and they tied the game with three minutes left.
The teams then played 10 minutes of sudden death overtime but remained deadlocked at 5-5.
After an ice clean the two teams took to the ice for another 20 minute sudden death period. Finally, approximately 10 minutes into the second overtime period, Sooke captain and top scorer Jaelyn Dumont was able to convert on a breakaway, allowing the Sooke girls to win the championship and capture their fourth banner in two years.
Not only did the girls easily win the regular season banner both years, they did so while being the least penalized team in the league. A fabulous run by a classy group of young women.
Team members include Desiree Cumming, Hailey Dimock, Jaelyn Dumont, Jasmine Kumar, Jaime Lafontaine, Alyssa Lloyd, Qu Lovbakke, Selena Madill, Kaitlin McKelvey, Sydnee Ogden-Moore, Celina Palko, Kendal Parkinson, Kailee Purnell, Monica Salt, Alison Sudlow, Victoria Sutherland, Kiara Taylor and Leah Zschau.
Coach Peter Faulkner
