The 24th annual Sarnia Women’s International Silverstick tournament wrapped up this weekend. The annual tournament plays host to teams from around the U.S. and Canada – including teams from Detroit, Colorado and even Seattle, Washington.
“Things went exceptionally well,” said Dave Schrie, who took over as tournament director back in May. Of course – this being the first time – lessons were learned.
“We had an issue with ice allotment, but that was based on my miscalculation on ice time. Lessons were learned,” Schrie told the Journal.
Aside from a scheduling mix-up, the tournament was a success, especially for local teams, Schrie added.
“The state of girls hockey is on the rise locally. We’re more than competitive in every tournament we attend, or in league play. If we are not at the top, we are near the top of the standings,” Schrie continued, mentioning he isn’t just talking about the Sarnia Lady Sting, but the Mooretown flags and Lambton Attack, who he says are 'ultra-competitive.'
That ultra-competitiveness was on display Sunday, as the first three championship finals of the day were dominated by local teams.
In the first final of the day, in the U11/10U B division, the Mooretown Lady Flags shut-out the South Huron Sabres 1-0. The Lady Flags finished the tournament 6-0-0 with an impressive 23 goals for and just two goals against. The Flag’s goal in the final was the only goal of the tournament scored against South Huron.
The U13/12U B final saw another Mooretown Lady Flags win — this time in an all-Lambton battle with the Lambton Attack.
The Lady Flags dominated the U13/12U B division, scoring 29 goals in the round robin, while only allowing three, going 4-0-0 to sit on top of the division. The other undefeated team through the round robin was the Sarnia Jr. Lady Sting, who lost to the Lambton Attack in the semi-finals 1-0.
After skating to a 7-0 win over St. Mary’s in the semi-final, the Mooretown Lady Flags downed the Lambton Attack in the final 1-0 in a tight game.
In the third straight final of the day, the U15/14U division saw the Sarnia Jr. Lady Sting assert their dominance, finishing the tournament undefeated after a 4-0-0 performance through the round robin, including a stingy defense, giving up just three goals.
The Lady Sting would face off against the other undefeated team, the Kincardine Kinucks — that stingy defense would come in handy against the Kinucks, who had 19 goals through five games. Sarnia would finish a tight game, with a 1-0 win to capture the Silverstick championship.
“That team alone has made it to the finals in three separate tournaments this year, winning two and losing one to Whitby,” said Schrie, whose daughter plays with the U15 Lady Sting.
Certainly a great way to end the week, which was a big one for women’s hockey after the debut of the PWHL. The women’s pro league began play on January 1, and has this week alone set the attendance record for women’s hockey twice: once in Ottawa where 8,313 fans watched Montreal down Ottawa 3-2 in overtime on opening day. They broke the record again January 6 in Minnesota, where Montreal lost 3-0 in front of 13,316 fans.
“It’s huge,” Schrie of the PWHL. “There’s a future, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel that says ‘I could do this for a living, possibly.”
Indeed, those around girls hockey are excited with the kickoff of a professional women’s league, and now with more options to keep playing, are hopeful to grow the sport further and keep girls playing for longer.
Schrie believes now that more opportunities are going to open up for girls hockey.
“There’s options now,” he says. “Girls don’t just see being top 20 in the country and playing for Team Canada as the only option — there is now a secondary option in the PWHL."
While Schrie is hopeful that this will entice more girls to play hockey, he is most hopeful that girls who start playing, will continue playing now that there is a goal to reach.
“I believe registration numbers were up at the younger levels, but if anything, it may keep kids around to play longer,” Schrie says.
“Instead of dropping out at 15 or 16, seeing these women playing may inspire girls to stick it out and play into their 30s, even recreationally,” he added.
While the impact of the women’s league remains to be seen, there is already short-term impact as excitement around the women’s game is clearly growing, and with the prospects of turning pro, it seems now that both boys and girls can chase that hockey dream.
One thing for sure, Sarnia Silverstick may not have broken attendance records, but certainly provided the large crowds that did attend, with some exciting action all weekend long.
The other Silverstick winners are listed below:
U18 17U BB Champions St Thomas Panthers
U13 12U BB Champions Chatham Crush
U18 17U B Champions Ayr Rockets
U13 12U A Champions Stoney Creek Sabres
U18 17U Champions Bluewater Hawks (Strathroy)