It was not a storybook ending, but it came close for the U14B Ringette Eliminators at the provincials in Prince George March 6-9.
Shuswap Ringette was fortunate enough to have three of its teams, U14, U16 and U19, travel the highway to participate in the event.
For the girls on the U14B Eliminators, this was the first time they have had the opportunity to work towards such an event – in the younger years provincial-level competitions do not exist.
The team came out strong, winning the first game of the round robin against Vernon. This winning streak was short lived, however, as the team lost their next two hard-fought battles against Kelowna and Prince George. Heading into their last round-robin game the Eliminators knew it was a must-win situation if they wanted to be in medal contention and avoid elimination.
Collectively pulling together, the Eliminators played one of their best games of the year, edging out Quesnel by two goals and finishing the round robin in second place.
The road to the gold then started bright and early at 6 a.m. on a time-change Sunday morning with the game again against third place Quesnel.
Keeping their eye on the prize, the Eliminators again battled hard and came out with a 10-8 win.
Next stop – the gold medal game against Prince George, a team the Eliminators had yet to beat this season. While playing hard and never giving up, it was not to be – the U14B Eliminators just could not get a leg up on their competition.
Prince George played a strong game claiming gold and the Eliminators captured silver.
It was an exciting and tense time for parents, players and coaches as the game went back and forth matching goal for goal.
Appreciation goes out from all of the girls on the Eliminators to the parents, coaches, relatives and friends, who never gave up, provided strong support, loud cheering and, of course, a ride to the rinks.
The U14B Eliminators include Marissa Materi, Tamara Brown, Tori Keehn, Emilie Petryshen, Kassi Archambault, Jaiden Clifford, Stephanie Martin, Brooklyn Agricola, Mariah Mitchell, Jordyn Turner, Jade Lutz, Taylor Thomlinson, Madison Moore and Megan Clark.