We are the champions!
The Provincial Championships, hosted at the end of the season in August for each of the respective adult divisions of play, are indeed the showcase series of events hosted by the Ontario Ball Hockey Association.
And to the victors go the spoils!
The presentation of the provincial signature medals, championship trophy and uniquely designed sublimated hoodies in each division of play, has become synonymous with OBHA supremacy. It is an accomplishment and one of the most sought after collection of trinkets in ball hockey today. The experience and bragging rights is the goal of most teams in the province at the beginning of each season.
The tournament was set up in an ‘open’ format with five teams and in the end the Ottawa Godfathers would win the A Championship and hometown London Gulls would take home the B tournament.
Ottawa has produced some of the best players and teams in the history of the OBHA and has always been a perennial powerhouse in the sport of ball hockey in Ontario. The successes of the infamous Globe Trophy, Senators, Voyageurs and Cobras are well documented in the annals of the OBHA record books and now add the Godfathers.
The Open division of play has produced some of the most competitive and exciting ball hockey in recent years as the majority of the games were tightly contested right up to and including the championship final which was decided in double overtime.
The Godfathers are a team in every sense of the word with a blend of veterans and youngsters who play a structured game at both ends of the floor. They were challenged to the end by the Danforth Knights enroute to capturing the win 3-2 in double overtime.
When the dust settled in the Men’s B Provincial Championships it was the hometown Gulls who took the championship. The Men’s ‘B’ participation in the OBHA has become one of the most popular and enjoyably competitive venues in recent years due in large part to the number, diversity and range in the ages of the players.
The two teams had met in round robin play and battled to a 1-1 tie, but the Gulls seemed to find their goal scoring in the semi final versus the Barrie Kingsman and carried it through to the final winning 5-1
Congratulations to all the teams for a very exciting tournament and to the Ottawa Godfathers, the A Provincial Champions and London Gulls, your B Provincial Champions.
