The Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association (ROPSSAA) girls' Tier One hockey final had a little bit of everything — stingy goaltending, fast skating, scoring chances, even a fight.
And when the final buzzer sounded, it also produced a fourth straight championship for Loyola Warriors.
Despite placing third in the South Division standings, the Warriors excelled when they had to, winning their last eight games, including today’s (March 6) 5-0 title-clinching victory over Brampton’s Mayfield Mavericks.
Backed by the steady goaltending of Grade 9 student Grace Atkinson, who kept the game scoreless through the first frame, the Warriors, with superior skating and play-making, eventually stymied the Mavericks, scoring twice in the second period and three times in the third.
Captain Alyssa Baldin and Shannon Jewer led the onslaught with two goals apiece, while Ali Hudson chipped in with a single.
Victory was sweet for all of the Warriors, especially Baldin, Hudson and Alyssa Richardson, who were celebrating their fourth gold medals.
“They have a great nucleus of players and they’re also a tough team — very physical,” said Mayfield coach John Forbes.
“They’re very skilled players and I think our players stopped skating and started watching them, which gets dangerous.
“We haven’t played a skilled team like that this year, and (Baldin) is one of the best skaters.”
Baldin’s skating hasn’t developed without a lot of hard work.
Playing hockey since she was four, when she fell in love with the game while watching her older brother play, Baldin has taken her career seriously and hopes to play next year at Wayne State University in Detroit or with a Canadian university.
Learning from renowned power skating instructor Dawn Braid, “who has improved my skating speed and agility,” Baldin also works out four to five times a week in the summer, including weight training with Richard Clark.
“I love the speed and the intensity of the sport,” said Baldin, who also plays with Mississauga Chiefs.
Understanding the intensity of the game, Baldin could identify with the combatants who butted heads near the end of the game in front of the Loyola goal. Roughing penalties went to Mayfield’s Kryshanda Green and Sarah Skates and the Warriors’ Jewer.
“Gosh, yeah,” Baldin said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in a high school game, but I think they (Mavericks) were frustrated. I’d be frustrated, too.”
Baldin blamed the team’s poor start this season to a lack of ice time.
“We needed a few games to gel as a team and get to know each other. We have a good group of girls,” which includes her younger sister, Stephanie.
“There was pressure on us returning as champions, so it’s a good feeling to win it.”
Loyola coach Brian Rakoczy added, “we’re on a nice roll. The girls are confident in each others’ abilities and I think we’re peaking.”
While Rakoczy said the Grade 12 students “are not rah-rah types, they’re all leaders at an elite level.”
Rakoczy added the team’s slow start might have worked to its advantage.
“We probably surprised a few people like (first-place) Mount Carmel and
(second-place) Gonzaga who may have thought, ‘Maybe Loyola’s not as good a team this year.’”
While Baldin was a dominant force in the Tier One final, Vittoria Pasquariello controlled the Tier Two championship with her superior skating and stickhandling, scoring goals in the first and third periods to lead St. Francis Xavier Tigers to a 2-0 win over Robert Hall Wolfpack.
Tigers coach Maureen Van de Ven credited goaltender Samantha Leviston for making key saves in the first period before her teammates took control.
Van de Ven raved about “Tory,” as her star player is known.
“(Pasquariello) is one of the top scorers (in Peel). In one tournament, she had five goals in one minute, four in 30 seconds," Van de Ven said, noting Pasquariello is only in Grade 10.
“I’ve got her for a couple more years," the coach added, smiling.
dwiner@mississauga.net