Oshawa Minor Ball Hockey would like to congratulate our 5 girls that went
over to Germany and played for Women's team Canada at the first ever women's
world championships. Oshawa players Britni Smith, Cassie Sparks, Michelle
Binning, Amber Ellis and Vikky Wells played a huge role in
contributing into the Success, in which saw Canada bring home the GOLD MEDAL.
the following is a brief summary of the world championships in Ratingen, Germany
2007.
CANADA GOLDEN
2007 Women’s Ball Hockey World Champions
There are many reasons why this team won gold in 2007, the most
important one was that they played as a team, strong and cohesive on
all ends of the floor, scoring 27 goals in 6 games, and holding
their opponents to a grand total of 1 goal. From among the many that
deserve mention, some of the more notable were goaltender Jen Price
who carried the load and supplied 3 shutouts in 4 big games, team
captain Lori Parker rock solid on defence,
along with fellow blue-liner Britni
Smith. Sue Brogno had 6 goals in 6
games, while Michelle Binning contributed 3 G and 3 A for her 6
points. Cassandra Sparks chipped in 5 points, and veteran Linda
Milani 4 points. Women have been playing
in organized leagues in Canada for 24 years, and this moment has
been a long time coming for the many involved in the sport in that
country.
Goaltender Jennifer Price of
Canada
allowed only one goal in the 5 games that she played. Slovak
defender Ivana
Gajdosova was a force on the blue-line and provided a few
booming slapshot goals as well through
the event. Canadian Britni Smith was
solid on defence and garnered votes from
her peers for this honour. The forwards
included tournament top scorer Jana Kapustova
(SVK) who had 7 points, Bettina Evers (GER) who factored on almost
every goal her team scored, and RenataMastna (CZE) who scored some big goals
for her country.
TOURNAMERNT INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
The
Fair Play Cup was awarded to Austria
for being the team least penalized. The Most Valuable Goalkeeper was
Petra Smardova from the
Czech Republic , who brilliant and was a main
factor in the success of her team. Lisa Bac of the USA
was selected MV Defenceman with her 4
point performance. MV Forward went to Canadian Sue
Brogno who amassed 6 goals in 6 games,
while the Tournament’s MVP went to her teammate Jennifer Price for a
practically unbeatable performance throughout the event and in the
all important final.
Saturday June 9th 2007 – Championship Final
GOLD CAN 2 : 0 SVK
Canada
and
Slovakia
only met a few hours before, and the Canadians started this game
with the same dominance they displayed at the tail end of the
previous game. Tammy Cote pounced on her first chance on a beautiful
one-on-one and deke of the goaltender
Martina Frantova. Within a few minutes
Robin Thompson put
Canada
up by 2 goals. The Slovaks picked up their tempo in the second and
third periods but the oppositions defence
was smothering, and what passed through was handled in a stellar
fashion by goaltender Jennifer Price.
Canada
claimed the first Womens World
Championship!
Saturday June 9th 2007 – Game #5
SVK 0 : 3 CAN
Both
teams needed only a tie to advance to the final,
however, they played as if each were desperate for a win, applying
offensive pressure at a maximum. The highly skilled clubs displayed
their abilities on defense as well and only one goal was scored in
the opening frame, Michelle Binning of
Canada
managing that feat.
Slovakia
seemed less determined to keep up the pace in the second period and
it cost them two goals in rapid succession on one shift by Susan
Laska taking advantage of miscues that
her speed produced. Jen Price kept the door shut in the net and
Canada
finished the round-robin surrendering only one goal.
Canada
is set for the final, while
Slovakia
must wait for the outcome of the CZE v
USA
game.
Friday June 8th 2007 – Game #4
CAN 1 : 1 CZE
The
early predictions proved themselves out with the top 4 clubs
producing ties against each other on this day.
Canada held a decided advantage in
offensive play but could not penetrate the solid Czech
defence and brilliant goaltending of
PavlaKopecka
until the second period on a score by Sue
Brogno. Laura Peskova of the
Czech Republic countered on the attack a minute later tying the
game, and raising the spirits of her teammates. The two teams traded
opportunities through the balance of the game and into the dying
minutes great scoring chances occurred at both ends, Jennifer Price
of
Canada making a sensational save at the
conclusion. In equal in points with
Slovakia (7), and a commanding lead in
the +/- tie-break,
Canada is in fine form heading into the
next day and an early morning date with its co-leader.
Czechia will require a big win over the
USA and a big Canadian loss in order to
find its way into the final.
Friday June 8th 2007 – Game #3
CAN 9 : 0 GER
Canada started very concentrated in
this game. Sue Brognooppend the scoring at 2:39 with her
first goal in this game, adding two more later on.
Germany defended with a lot of spirit,
but the very experienced Canadian team scored two additional goals
in the first period. In the second part the Canadians played even
better, celebrating five more goals taking a
8:0 lead into the second break. The last period saw a German team
getting more and more able to handle the Canadian offence. German
goalkeeper Stefanie
Theismann and her defence allowed
only one goal in the last 12 minutes. Team
Canada celebrated their third shut-out
in a row, while their offence had contributions from 17 different
players. This evening Canada
will face the Czech Republic in a crucial match. With a win, the
Canadians can guarantee a spot in the Gold medal final.
Germany , in search of their first win, will
meet the strong Slovaks.
Thursday June 7th 2007 – Game #2
AUT 0 : 9 CAN
Austria
held
Canada
off the scoreboard until midway through the first period when the
Canadians erupted with 3 goals in just over 1 minute, Cassie Sparks,
Sue Brogno, and Tammy Cote scoring. The
Canadians maintained an even tempo through the game adding 3 more
goals in the second, 2 by Michelle Binning, and another 3 in the
third, including a second from Brogno.
Canada
is now 2-0-0 as they ready for
Germany
in the morning.
Austria
showing signs of improvement hope to keep building on the learning
process as Czechia awaits them next.
Thursday June 7th 2007 – Game #1
CAN 3 : 0
USA
And so it begins…at 3:26 into the game, Linda
Milani of
Canada scored the first official goal
of the inaugural WWC, on a pass from Michelle Binning.
Milani is a long time player of street
hockey in
Canada and a worthy athlete for this
historic goal. Canada
dominated play through much of the match, and the fine goaltending
of Allessandra
Ciambra kept the American side within reach. Cassie Sparks
added an additional goal in the first period, and Vicky Wells
completed the troika mid-way through the second. Team
USA improved as the game went along
keeping their opponents off the score sheet throughout the second
half of the match, but Canadian goaltender Jen Price would not let
the shutout escape her firm grip.