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Ravens show they are among the best in Canada

Bantam rep girls hockey team finishes second at renowned 2 Nations Cup in Toronto
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Richmond Ravens are now ranked fourth in the nation among Bantam age teams after their second place finish at the 2 Nations Cup in Toronto.

An outstanding showing back east has earned the Richmond Bantam “A” Ravens national recognition.
The rep girls hockey team finished second at the 2 Nations College Showcase tournament in Toronto. The Ravens were edged 2-1 in overtime by the Ottawa 67s. The result moved them to No. 4 in the latest Canadian rankings.
The tournament was a great opportunity for the players to gain exposure to U.S. colleges as over 45 NCAA schools had evaluators in attendance.
“The quality of hockey was exceptional. The game is much more physical in Ontario, but it is clean hockey,” said Ravens head coach Tony Lindsay. “The teams there play more of a north south style of play, hard on the forecheck and hard to the net. Our style incorporates much more cycling and east west play and emphasizes speed on the transition.
“Every team we played was made up primarily of 2002 players, where our team is half 2002 and half 2003 aged players. Every team was bigger than we were and every shift is intense and every puck is contested. It was an exceptional experience for our players to be pushed at this level.”
The Ravens were part of the U14 AA Division that featured 20 of the top teams in North America. Four round-robin games determined which teams would advance to the semi-finals.
Richmond opened with a 6-2 win over Brampton Canadettes, then came up with a big 4-0 win over the Ancaster Avalanche. The Hamilton team won the earlier 2 Nations Cup tourney in Detroit and was ranked No. 5 in Ontario.
The Ravens suffered their first loss of the season to the Peterborough Petes as the Ontario squad tied the game at 3-3 with 26 seconds left and won in overtime at the buzzer.
The locals received a point for the overtime loss and still could advance to the playoffs with a win over the Nepean Crunch. They came through with a 4-0 victory and also won the semi-final by the same score against the Sudbury Wolves.
That set stage for the final against the 67s, ranked second in Ontario. It was an intense back-and-forth game as Janaka Shahi had a strong game in net.
Katie Chan scored the goal of the tournament, with an end-to-end rush, outside drive and an incredible bar down backhand to put Richmond up 1-0 in the second period. Ottawa tied it up with seven minutes left in the third and then won in overtime.
The Ravens never trailed the entire tournament, only surrendering the two overtime goals.
“The coaches at the tournament commented that we were the fastest team they had seen at this level and that our transition game was incredible,” added Lindsay. “Ottawa coaches told us we were the best team they have seen this year.
“Focus now will be to build on what we learned in Toronto and keep getting better.”
Goaltender Brynn Waisman recorded three shutouts and was not scored on in the tournament. Jennifer Andrash and Nicole Soon and Chan were all in the top 10 in tournament scoring. Sara Bourdon and Mackenzie Johnston were considered two of the top defensemen.
Richmond has now won a pair of top tournaments in B.C., finished second at the 2 Nations and remain undefeated in Pacific Coast regular season play.