Jewel Wheeler, Contributor
With the winter sports season drawing to a close at Saunders, teams are preparing for their playoff runs. The boys and girls hockey teams are among those entering the final stages of their 2022 - 2023 season. To celebrate the seasons for both these teams, the Saunders Student Council hosted a pep rally called the Golden Puck which was held on Friday, February 10th at the Western Sports Complex. Both the boys and the girls teams battled Saunders notorious rivals, the Oakridge Oaks.
Before playoffs, the boys team were ranked 5th in division 1 of the central sector while the girls were ranked 2nd in central division 2. The Golden Puck game, which was an exhibition game, was the final regular game of the year as playoffs are just around the corner.
When asked about the Saunders Oakridge rivalry and how this rivalry will impact the game, team captain Jack Steadman commented, “We’re one and one against them, we lost to them one to nothing and then we also beat them 4 nothing; We beat them when it counted.”
Steadman and the other players have had high levels of confidence going into the Golden Puck game as well as the playoffs. “We’ve beaten the first and second in the league right now. But we’ve also lost to some mediocre teams” he says. When asked about how the players feel about the upcoming golden puck game, he says “Everyone is definitely stoked. The past two, three weeks we’ve been talking about it, promoting it on Instagram.” Having the game will, “ and, “[Golden Puck] will be good for some momentum going into the playoffs. It’s just an exhibition game but it’s nice to have the support of the whole school and the boys are looking forward to it.”
The excitement was definitely felt at the game. Saunders fans filled up nearly more than double the seats of the Oakridge fans, a sentiment Steadman predicted when he declared, “I think we have a few more fans than them.” The sea of red and golden fans cemented Saunders spirit. The fans were loud throughout the game, cheering at the many impressive plays made by Saunders players.
This energy was felt within the girls game as a crowd screamed our famous cheer, “deep in the heart of the London jungle, you can hear the sabres rumble. Ooh ah, oh ah, ooh ah, oh.” The support was impressive and filled the arena with an air of Enthusiasm.
Sadly, both teams fell short in the exhibition game with the boys losing 4 - 2, and the girls losing by a score of 6 - 2. Despite the upsetting results, both teams still had hope for the playoffs. The girls team played 1 playoff game against the Lucas Vikings where they sadly fell by a score of 5 - 3. The girls team, despite their upsetting playoff results, had a prosperous regular season with a second place finish and a single regular season loss.
The boys team played 3 quarter final games against the last place Banting Broncos during the first round of the playoffs. They fell short in the first game, losing by a tight score of 2 - 1. In the second game, the sabres came in and showed the Broncos their spirit, winning by a score of 6 - 1. The final game cemented the Sabres lead as they, again, beat the Broncos 6 - 1.
With the quarter final victory, the boys team moved on to the semi final playoff round where they faced the Medway Cowboys. The boys played their first game on Tuesday the 21st they lost by a score of 2 - 1. Their last game was Wednesday the 22nd.
The end of the winter season is not the end of the team's success as the players and coaches have been working hard to assure the upcoming seasons are just as successful. Steadman stated “We have a lot of younger players on the team, we have a few grade 9’s, a few grade 10s. Our coaches always make sure to pick up some younger guys. They may not see power play or penalty kill but they are getting opportunities and building confidence to keep the culture of hockey at Saunders alive.”
Both teams are thanked for their hard work and stellar performances. Make sure to keep up with the boys team playoff run. Updates will be on STAR TV as well as the TVRA website.