Pool A
Waterloo Collegiate Vikings - Waterloo (WCSSAA)
League Finish: 12-0, 1st
Playoff Finish: WCSSAA Champions
Key Players: Alyssa Shortt, Lindsay Taylor, Bria Dietrich
What To Expect: An OFSAA berth --- or, at least, that's what's become expected of the Vikes, who have won 6 of the last 7 CWOSSA banners. That said, it might be a little more difficult this time around, especially with starting forward Lindsay Lessard expected to miss CWOSSA. Of course, the Vikes came through against the Raiders, and they do have some talent coming off the bench in Erin Helsby and Julia Pavlik --- who will see their respective roles become even more important this weekend.
St. Mary's Eagles - Kitchener (D8)
League Finish: 10-0, 1st
Playoff Finish: D8 Champions
Key Players: Kaitlyn Schenck, Laura Boterman, Emily Webber, Alysha Hergott
What To Expect: Confidence. The Eagles go into this game coming off of a D8 championship victory where they got down early (21-8), and calmly got their way back into the game. As such, don't expect them to get rattled if they find themselves down early in either of their pool games. On the flip side of the coin, they also have the offensive firepower to potentially put a team away should they get up early.
Guelph CVI Gaels - Guelph (D10)
League Finish: 8-6, 4th
Playoff Finish: Lost in D10 Championship
Key Players: Lindsay Thompson, Alysha Warnholtz, Sierra McLaren
What To Expect: A better performance than the D10 finals. OK, that's pretty much a given, considering that Thompson went out with an injured ankle during the championship game and the Gaels ended up dropping a 52-18 decision to Centre Wellington. The nucleus of this club (the trio mentioned above) won the CWOSSA junior title a couple of years back, so talent is definitely there. They can all shoot the three ---- teams will need to respect this capability.
Pool B
St. John's Green Eagles - Brantford (D5)
League Finish: 10-0, 1st
Playoff Finish: Brant County Champions
Key Players: Kelly Van Leeuwen, Kayla Santilli
What To Expect: A championship. Even without Katie Polischuk (ankle injury), the Eagles enter the CWOSSA championships as the definitive favourites. Like their junior schoolmates, homecourt (and home crowd) advantage should only serve to further this advantage.
Cameron Heights Golden Gaels - Kitchener (WCSSAA)
League Finish: 11-1, 3rd
Playoff Finish: Lost in WCSSAA Semifinals
Key Players: Erin Robbins, Siki Jez, Liz McLellan
What To Expect: A big effort from Erin Robbins in her final high school games. The Gaels enter pool "B" as the definite underdogs, so they'll need top notch performances from Robbins, Jez, McLellan (and other starters --- Camille Gardner & Anny Phan) to advance out of pool play.
Centre Wellington DHS Falcons - Fergus (D10)
League Finish: 11-3, 2nd
Playoff Finish: D10 Champions
Key Players: Erica McFadden, Chelsea Riepert
What To Expect: A semi-finals appearance. Many had written the Falcons off from D10 contention after a season-ending concussion injury to star forward Jaime Janssen. However, McFadden, Riepert, and the rest of the Falcons stepped up and won the title. They are one of the 3 or 4 teams that appear to be serious contenders for the 2 OFSAA berths.
Mark's Predictions
Pool A
Waterloo CI 2-0
St. Mary's 1-1
Guelph CVI 0-2
Pool B
St. John's 2-0
Centre Wellington 1-1
Cameron Heights 0-2
Semifinals
WCI over CWDHS
St. John's over St. Mary's
Final
St. John's over WCI
Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling Cinderella is going to the ball.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's wins CWOSSA easy but CHCI takes down CWDSS and then shock WCI. They get the 13th seed at OFSSA and win at least one game.
Pinch me. I must be dreaming!
Why not! After St. John's, almost any of the other 5 schools could take the second CWOSSA berth! It will be interesting to see how it plays out, that's for sure.
ReplyDeletest johns over wci in final.
ReplyDeleteThe upset might be CWDSS over wci but i doubt it
Cameron beat CWDSS by around 15. Step one. The BIG step is yet to come at noon tomorrow. I'd say they have as much chance as WCI beating Rez in senior football....... like the Rez coach put it. 1 in 10.
ReplyDelete