Ottawa Challenge Cup
The United AAA ringette team started the OWG season with the first Challenge Cup held in Eastern Region.
The excitement level was high as the team took on the the Eastern Region who is always favoured to win the Gold at the Ontario Winter Games. The teams traded goals in the first 5 minutes and again in the middle of the first half, United AAA went ahead at the 5:43 mark to go into the intermission with the lead. United AAA exploded out of the gate in the second period with two quick goals in the first two minutes but Eastern replied with a pair in the middle of the half. United re-established a two goal lead at the 5:26 mark and finished it off with a goal in the last minute to start the tournament with a 7-4 win.
The second game versus Central saw a different United AAA team play as they were not able to gain any momentum and were already behind 3-0 going into the second half. They were able to create some offence in the second half but it was not nearly enough as Central walked away with a 6-2 win.
United AAA started the second day with a game against Northeast Region. The team was playing a little off still but scored 3 goals in 3 minutes near the middle of the first half and looked like they can survive the pesky Northern Ontario squad, Northeast replied later in the period with a goal. As the confidence level of the Northeast team rose at the beginning of the second half and the United teams inability to sustain a defence, the Northeast squad score 3 times in the first 4 minutes to take the lead. The rest period was uneventful until United AAA was able to salvage a tie near the end of the game.
The evening contest was against the Southern region team and with a good game they could maybe salvage the weekend and give themselves a chance to get to the finals. The game started quickly with United scoring in the first minute but the Southern team came back to tie the score half way through the half. The teams traded goals the rest of the period and finished the half tied 3-3. The second half was a good effort by the United team but good team play in the defensive zone and the Southern forwards capitalizing on some mistakes by the United team allowed them to score 4 unanswered goals and finish the game with a 7-3 win.
Relegated to the spoiler role the United AAA team had to regroup to prepare to play Western Region on Monday morning. The Western team is always considered a medal contender for the OWGs. The United team showed the spirit that they started the tournament with and came out and scored twice in the first two minutes to set the tone for the game, Western was able to get within a goal when the United team took two penalties at the same time and Western score on a 3 on 2 situation. The United AAA team regained the two goal lead a couple of minutes later only to give the Western team another 3 on 2 situation soon after in which they scored again the bring the score to within 1. The United team took a 2 goal lead again in the last minute of the first half and made it 3 in the first minute of the second half making a statement that they will not fold easily in this game. The teams traded goals before there was 15 minutes left in the game and United scored another just before the middle of the period to finish the scoring. The rest of the game was a spirited and exciting and the United AAA team won the game with a 7-3 score.
This Challenge Cup showed that the teams are close and anybody can win any game which means the road to the Ontario Winter Games will be exciting and the OWGs will showcase the sport to everyone in attendance.