John Wright/The Independent

It was a historic moment for the LCCVI Girls’ Hockey team, but it was marred by frustration.

“The girls made history today and we’re really proud of them,” said Coach Scott Watson after the Lancers lost 3-2 in a shootout to Crestwood Preparatory College from Toronto in the bronze medal game of the OFSAA A/AA girls hockey championships Thursday in Cobourg.

The Lancers claimed antique bronze after finishing fourth in the tournament. It was the first time that LCCVI was won a medal since OFSAA became an officially sanctioned tournament in 2003. The Lancers won gold when it was a festival in 2001.

But the milestone moment was laced with frustration as the Lancers endured one questionable call after the other.

“One of the linesmen came over and apologized to one of our coaches for the reffing of this game,” Watson told The Independent after the shoot-out.

LCCVI got off to a strong start in the game, going ahead with 5:29 left in the second period when Rylan Hall scored from behind the goal line, banking the puck off the back of the Crestwood goalie who was getting back into position after making a pair of big saves.

Gem Winters responded quickly for Crestwood, picking the short side on a high shot to tie the game at one.

The Lancers retook their lead when Hall came into the offensive zone and was hauled down leading to a delayed penalty on Crestwood. With Chloe Reid dashing to the bench for the extra attacker, the puck popped back to Heidi Shaw who scored on a point shot and was promptly mobbed by her teammates.

The frustration with the officials began in the final nine minutes of the third period. Mya Thorne fell to the ice and an arm was raised. The call came and it was Thorne who headed to the box for tripping, much to the dismay of the LCCVI fans in attendance.

On the ensuing power play, Crestwood tied the game at two when Avery Horst ripped a shot into the top corner.

With 4:41 left in the game, Khloe Barron was dinged for an unsportsmanlike conduct minor when she said something skating by an official. Less than a minute later, Thorne was called for cross-checking, which was her third penalty of the game.

The Lancers faithful held their collective breath as Crestwood had a minute and eight seconds on a five-on-three.

Chloe Reid stood tall in the Lancers net making a few saves to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the parade to the penalty box continued with Ella McCallum being called for hooking to the disbelief of the LCCVI bench.

After the penalty was called, the referee quickly dished out a ten-minute misconduct to Lancers captain Olivia Minten, ending her high school hockey career.

The Lancers finally headed to the power play after Crestwood was called for tripping with 1:51 left in the extra frame.

It was LCCVI’s first power play since middle of the first period and second of the game. Crestwood finished with six power plays opportunities.

Lancers head coach Scott Watson frustration with the officiating was evident after the game,

“We don’t like to say we won or lost because of the officiating. At the same time, you’re up 2-1 late in the game and then we get hauled down a couple times?” he said. “One of the linesmen came over and apologized to one of our coaches for the reffing of this game. That alone says a lot of what happened in this game.”

LCCVI was unable to convert on their power play chance so the game would be decided in a shootout.

Crestwood’s first two shooters scored and their goalie Addi Adomaitis stopped all four LCCVI players in the shootout to power the top seed to the bronze medal.

Watson proud of LCCVI players for their resiliency

LCCVI was given a tough draw in the tournament, pegged as the 13th seed, despite going 11-1-1 and posting a 4-1-1 record against AAA teams this season. Coach Watson said the team playing with a little extra fire after getting that seed,

“The (players) put on their Instagram 13 is our lucky number. They listened to Coach James McEwan when he said were here on a business trip. (They) kind of laughed and put a post out saying we’re here for business.”

LCCVI had a rocky start to that trip going 0-1-1 in their first two games of their tournament, putting them into must-win territory.

They beat Crestwood Secondary School (Peterborough) in their final round robin game to advance to the quarterfinals where they shutout St. Charles College (Sudbury).

Watson was impressed by his team’s ability to bounce back after facing adversity,

“They were the 13th ranked (team) and came in and made the final four, coming back from a 7-2 loss and that not getting in their heads. They never gave up (and) were persistent the whole time. They showed a lot of resiliency and they were here for one another and fought for one another. They just kept stepping up and answering the call throughout the tournament and never quit. They’re strong-willed kids who have a lot of integrity and a lot of heart. The girls made history today and we’re really proud of them.”

Captain Olivia Minten, goalie Chloe Reid, and defender Hallie Whiting played their final high school hockey games this afternoon.

Minten is set to join for the University of Waterloo’s women’s hockey team for the 2026-2027 season.

Watson held back tears when talking about the LCCVI captain,

“She is a great kid. (Coach) Sarah (Krawetz) has an amazing relationship with Olivia. Olivia goes and says hi to her all the time on Sarah’s prep period. Olivia goes in and does her chemistry work on her spare. (Sarah) will text me every once in awhile and says the girls are here and want to say hi to you. You can’t help but love the kid.”

Watson knows he will a strong group of players for next season,

“The majority of the girls are grade 11’s when they came in grade nine we knew we had a talented team. Our goal two years ago was to try to get here to get these girls to medal. This is our third season in that building process. This is where we wanted to be. It’s not exactly the result we had hoped for but we got to the medal rounds. We’re so ecstatic (about) what this group has accomplished together.”

“We’d like to get (to OFSAA) again next year. I think their going to open their eyes a lot more and see that were a better seed than 13th.”

The Lancers were the lowest seed to make the final four. The other three teams were each top four seeds in the tournament.

“I think the girls made their statement in this tournament.”