CZECH PLEASE!
It probably wasn't the tournament gameplan that the Czechi GM, Colleen Mantie, had in mind entering Saturday's WOSHL Tourney II. But 10 hours later, whatever the gameplan was...it worked!
The jersey's worn by Team Czechia have endured 16 prior tournaments (all with the OSHL) of having never even seen a championship game. It took Mantie and her teammates 5 games to undo all that, and 36 additional minutes to bring Czechia it's first-ever championship.
The day didn't start off great. They kicked the tournament off with a tight 5-4 loss to Team Germany. However, despite the loss, there were some positives coming out of that game. Czechia ended up outshooting the Germans almost 2-1 (29-16), and could probably credit the loss to running into a hot goaltender.
The team turned it around quickly in game two. Thanks to a 3-goal perfomance from Meighan Kerr, Czechia rolled to a 5-2 win over Ireland, and more importantly putting themselves on the + side of the all-important goal-differential stat.
In their final round-robin game, the Czechs ran into Sweden's deadly duo of Kat Acheson and Jessica Hansen. With both teams looking to secure a spot in the playoffs, it was Acheson (3-2-5) and Hanson (2-2-4) who provided the offense in leading Sweden to a 5-3 victory.
While the loss stung, the Czechs were still in very good position when it came to clinching a berth in the post-season. There was the potential of up to four teams finishing with 3 points, all competing for the final two spots.
In Pool A, Canada had already secured 3 points...but sat with a -6 goal differential. The Czechs, also at 3 points, had an even goal differential...meaning they currently held the top wildcard spot.
Pool C went into their final games with Ukraine already having earned 3 points, and holding a +1 differential, but facing a tough match up with Denmark. Team Scotland, with 0 points and a -8 differential, finished their round-robin off versus a strong Latvian team. So in order for Czechia to be elimanted two things needed to happen; Ukraine upset Denmark. And...Scotland blow out the Latvian's by 8 or more goals.
Needless to say...Czechia was off to the playoffs.
In the first round it was Denmark. The Czech goaltender, Tosia Lopata, stood on her head...stopping 32 of 34 shots to help carry the Czech's to a 3-2 victory.
Round 2.
Finland.
The Finn's had rolled through the tournament up until this point. Going 4-0 and outscoring their opponents by a margin of 28-11. They would finish the tournament with 4 of it's top 6 scorers. They would also finish their tournament against the Czechs. Final score. 4-3.
On to the Paris Jeweller's Cup Final where their opponent would be Carolina Arenas and the Slovakians.
Team Slovakia were riding the unbelievable goaltending of Tammy West. West posted a ridiculous 3 shutouts through the first 5 games, and had yet to give up a goal in the playoffs entering the Championship game.
Both teams entered the final game dealing with the effects of having played a gruelling 5-games over the course of a single day. Shifts were short, stamina was low, but they were both there to win. As the clock wound down to under 2 minutes left in regulation, it was the Slovak's that held a slim 2-1 lead, appearing to be on their way to hoisting the Paris Jewellers Cup. But with less than 90 seconds to go, a scramble in front of the Slovak's goal resulted in the ball being banged home, sending the two already exhausted teams into sudden death overtime.
In overtime, it was the GM, Colleen Mantie who would provide the golden goal, crowning Team Czechia your WOSHL Tourney II Paris Jewellers Cup Champions!
TOURNEY II AWARDS:
Hart Trophy (MVP) - Colleen Mantie, CZECHIA
Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender) - Tammy West, SCOTLAND
Heart & Hustle Award (Exemplary Effort) - Kat Acheson, SWEDEN
2x WOSHL Champions - Tosia Lopata (CAN, CZE)
