Huron Heat teams return from OWHA provincial championships
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
While six Huron Heat teams travelled to various Toronto-area locations for the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) provincial championships over the weekend, none of them returned with gold medals around their necks.
The U11 BB Huron Heat won the first two games they played in the tournament, defeating the Toronto Leaside Wildcats by a score of 1-0 and the Scarborough Sharks by a score of 4-0, both on Friday. The next day, the girls only played one game and it ended with a 3-0 victory over the Kanata Rangers, sending them to the championship round on Sunday.
The Heat took on the Niagara Rapids on Sunday in the semi-finals, but lost by a score of 3-2, sending them to the bronze medal game against the Toronto Leaside Wildcats once again. However, the Heat lost to the Wildcats by a score of 1-0, meaning they would finish just short of the podium.
The U11 C Heat also opened their tournament play with a win on Friday - a 4-0 victory over the Belmont Blazers. However, things didn’t go their way in the second game that day, as the locals fell to the Lakeshore Lightning by a score of 2-1.
The team then took on the Kanata Rangers on Saturday in a game that ended in a 2-2 tie. That wouldn’t be enough to propel the Heat into the championship round on Sunday, however, so that was the end of the tournament for them.
The Lucknow/Wingham 86ers would go on to win gold in this division, beating a team from Parkhill to win the tournament. Also in the U11 division, the South Huron Sabres placed second in the U11 B division, falling to the Mooretown Lady Flags in the finals.
The U13 BB Heat opened tournament play on Friday with a 3-1 win over the North Halton Twisters, followed by a decisive 5-0 shutout victory over the Toronto Leaside Wildcats. On Saturday, the team tied the Sudbury Lady Wolves at one, but it wasn’t enough to earn them another game in the tournament.
The U13 C Heat won their first game of the provincials on Friday with a 3-0 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Wildcats, followed by a 5-0 loss at the hands of the Fort Frances Leafs.
The next day, the Heat faced a familiar foe in the Lucan Irish and won by a score of 3-0 before registering another victory that evening, a 2-1 win over the Kanata Rangers.
The team’s luck then ran out on Sunday in the championship round, however, with a 3-0 loss to the Fort Frances Leafs and then a 3-2 loss to the Heart Ice Cats to close out the season for the Heat.
The U15 C Heat began their tournament on Friday afternoon with a 4-1 loss to the Wilmot Wolverines, followed later that night by a 6-0 victory over the Georgina Golden Hawks.
They would play again on Saturday, taking on the Ilderton Jets, but a score for that game was unavailable at press time and it was the team’s last game of the provincials.
On Saturday, the U9 B Heat played in the provincial championship year-end jamboree, though scores were not kept for the tournament.
The team played the Brantford Ice Cats and Gloucester Cumberland Stars on Saturday and the Durham West Lightning and the Burlington Barracudas on Sunday.
In the U18 BB division, which did not include a Huron Heat team this year, the South Huron Sabres reigned victorious, claiming gold after a win over the Lambton Attack in the finals.
All that now remains on the Huron Heat schedule are try-outs for the 2024/2025 season taking place in Goderich and Exeter.