BRUINS ROAR TO CHALLENGE CUP TITLE

For Sheridan, it was a day of lucky 7s against Seneca at the 2010 Challenge Cup extramural hockey championship. 

First, it was seven goals in a preliminary match-up against a Sting team the Bruins thought they wouldn't see again.  Then it was the 7th shooter in a championship game against a Seneca team that almost stung Sheridan the second time around.

Sheridan claimed the 2010 Challenge Cup title with a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory over Seneca that wasn't decided until the 7th shooter.   It was the second year in a row that the Challenge Cup final has been decided in extra time.

Sheridan entered the tourney as the 8th seed but played like a front runner, reeling off a 6-2 win over #5 Georgian-Orillia and a convincing 7-1 win over #4 Seneca in the preliminary round.   This set up a quarter-final tilt against #6 Georgian-Barrie in which the Bruins survived a ferocious Grizzly onslaught in the 3rd period nursing a 2-0 lead to prevail 4-1.  Next up was #2 Durham and Sheridan's two quick goals in the second period proved to be a difference in the 4-0 win.  Durham had advanced via a tough 2-1 win over Georgian-Orillia, who in turn had barely made the quarter-finals thanks to a 6-5 shootout win over #1 Humber-North that eliminated the Hawks from the playoffs.

This set-up a suprise rematch with Seneca in the final.

Seneca started the tourney well with a 3-1 win over #9 Canadore before getting rocked by Sheridan.  This set up a quarterfinal match-up with #3 George Brown, which Seneca pulled out by a 3-1 count.  Next up was a semi-final tilt against #11 Fleming-Lindsay, who had prevailed against  Boreal, Humber-Lakeshore and U of T Scarborough after losing their opener to Durham.   The Sting and the Auks were deadlocked at two until the Sting scored with just over 3 minutes to play and held on for the victory.

Sheridan may have thought they were in for an easy ride against Seneca but it was not to be.  Both teams battled hard, with Sheridan taking a 2-1 lead with just over two-minutes to play, only to see the Sting tie the game up again with under one minute to play. Overtime almost saw Seneca take the title but a great save off of a two-on-one in the dying seconds send the game to a shootout.   When the regulation shootout decided nothing, it was on to sudden death where finally the Bruins 7th shooter potted the championship winner.

Congratulations to all teams who participated in the extramural hockey Challenge Series and to those teams who qualified for the Challenge Cup.  The level of play and interest in extramural hockey has never been higher,  with 35 teams from 28 OCCCR-affiliated institutions and four university campuses taking part in tournaments this year.  With Sheridan's win this year and Boreal's in 2009, extramural hockey seems to embody the adage that on any given day, anyone can win - but you need to get there to have a shot! 

What team will roll lucky 7s in 2011?

#1 HAWKS GROUNDED BY UTSC IN CHALLENGE CUP OPENER

For U of T Scarborough, the third time was a charm - and for the second year in a row the top seed at the Challenge Cup has lost its opening game.

The 2010 Challenge Cup opened Thursday night with four games, and in the #12  UTSC squad proved to be spoilers, defeating the top rated Humber North Hawks 2-1.  It was the third meeting of the season between the two squads, with Humber taking the previous two games by the same 2-1 count.

The three other games followed the seeding script, with #2 Durham beating #11 Fleming-Lindsday 3-1; #3 George Brown destroying defending Challenge Cup champs Boreal 11-1; and #4 Seneca prevailing 3-1 over #9 Canadore.

With the win, UTSC has secured a spot in tomorrow's quarter-final round along with Durham.  Humber will have to defeat Canadore and then the loser of the Georgian-Orillia/Sheridan game Friday morning to advance to the quarter-finals.

HUMBER NORTH AND DURHAM CLAIM TOP SEEDS AT CHALLENGE CUP

The Humber North Hawks and Durham Lords occupy the #1 and #2 positions in the final Extramural Power Ratings and will be the top seeds in their pools at the Extramural Hockey Challenge Cup, held March 25 & 26 at Durham College in Oshawa. This year's tournament features winners of six tournaments and six wild card entries.

Humber enters the tournament with a stranglehold on the #1 position, sporting a 12-0-1-1 record in three tournaments, having won the Humber and UTSC invitationals and making it to the finals of the Grizzly Shootout. The Hawks will be looking for a much better result than last year's Challenge Cup appearance, where the squad came in as the #2 seed but went winless in three games.

Durham, with a 9-0-0-4 record, started quickly this year with a finals appearance at St. Lawrence-Brockville and a tourney win at Conestoga, but have struggled in their last two tourneys and are sporting a 3-3 record in their last six games. Durham will be looking to avoid a repeat of last year's poor performance at the Challenge Cup as well.

Durham secured the #2 seed by the slimmest of margins, finishing a mere 0.08 points ahead of # 3 George Brown and 0.32 points ahead of Seneca Newnham.  Both George Brown and Senecahave won tournaments this year.

Rounding out the field will be tournament winners and defending Challenge Cup champions Boreal; tournament winners Georgian-Barrie and wild card entries Georgian-Orillia, Humber-Lakeshore, Sheridan, Canadore, Fleming-Lindsay and U of T Scarborough #1.

Here are the final Extramural Power Ratings positions, points and records (Wins, Shootout/OT wins, Shootout/OT losses or Ties and Losses) for each of the qualifiers:


1. Humber (North)          80.06 pts -12-0-1-1

2. Durham                       58.65 pts - 9-0-0-4

3. George Brown             58.57 pts - 9-1-1-3

4. Seneca (Newnham)     58.33 pts - 8-3-1-3

5. Georgian (Orillia)         57.19 pts - 10-0-0-6

6. Georgian (Barrie)         54.85 pts - 11-0-1-5

7. Humber (Lakeshore)    53.75 pts - 7-2-1-4

8. Sheridan                       51.46 pts - 5-0-1-6

9. Canadore                     47.00 pts - 9-0-0-6

10. Boreal                        45.38 pts - 5-1-0-5

11. Fleming-Lindsay         43.94 pts - 6-2-2-8

12. UTSC # 1                  42.25 pts - 4-0-1-5

SENECA & MAC WIN FINAL TOURNEYS

Seneca-Newnham and McMaster won the final two qualifying tournaments for the 2010 Extramural Challenge Cup on March 12th.

An undermanned Seneca team won their pool at the Grizzly Shootout hosted by Georgian College with a 4-1 win over St. Lawrence Cornwall and a 2-1 shootout win over host Georgian-Barrie.  The Sting then defeated surprising St. Clair Chatham in the semi-finals before overcoming the powerhouse Humber-North squad 2-1 in overtime.

McMaster rolled to victory at the Sheridan Invitational by virtue of a 6-3 win over Wilfred Laurier University-Brantford and a tough 5-4 win over Conestoga College before facing the host Bruins in the final, where the Marauders prevailed again by a 6-3 score.

With the win, Seneca-Newnham earns a spot in the Challenge Cup March 25-26 at Durham College in Oshawa.  Unfortunately for McMaster, it's season is over as it is not an OCCCR-affiliated instituition and thus is ineligble for Challenge Cup qualification.