SENIOR WOMEN WIN NCL EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

The Toronto Golden Jets senior women pulled off a stunning upset to win the NCL Eastern Conference playoffs at Kingston.
 

In the first game of the tournament, missing half the team due to school and work commitments, the Jets failed badly losing 14-1 to the first place CAMO squad from Montreal.
 

Later in the day, with the arrival of reinforcements, the Jets topped Capital Wave (Ottawa) 15-8. The teams played a close first half that left the Jets ahead 6-5. However, a pair of three goal victories in the next two quarters allowed Toronto to pull away.
 

Shae LaRoche and Devon Lynch led the scoring with four goals apiece. Josie Andrist, Hannah Levin and Julia Mic all popped in a pair while Georgia Springate added the final tally.
 

Next up was the Ottawa Titans Red squad. Again the Jets got off to a slow start but still enjoyed a one goal advantage (4-3) heading into the second quarter. Then, the offence exploded for 8 goals and the Jets burst ahead to a 12-5 halftime lead. From then on, the defence shut out the Titans en route to a 18-5 victory and a spot in the semi-finals the next day.
 

Veteran Brittany Sinclair led all scorers with four markers. La Roche and Levin each tallied a hattrick. Andrist, Springate, Lynch and Sarah August all popped in a pair.
 

The semi-final was a rematch with Capital Wave. This time, the Jets wasted no time jumping out to a 4-0 first quarter advantage and a 7-1 half time lead. However, perhaps thinking about the championship game later in the day, the Jets stopped playing and were shut out in the second half but still held on for a 7-4 win.
 

LaRoche led the way with a hattrick. Sinclair, Andrist, August and Lynch each scored once. Goalies Rachael Jaffe (first half) and Grace Bobyk (second half) provided steady play in the net.
 

The final proved to be a rematch against the top-seeded CAMO team. This time, the Jets would have almost their full squad.
 

The final started off just as badly as the first game between the clubs with CAMO pulling ahead 4-0 five minutes into the first quarter. But the Jets got one back a minute later and then another a minute after that to trail 4-2 after one period of play.
 

The teams kept trading goals throughout the second and third quarters but the Jets scored first and last to tie things up heading into the final frame.
 

Led by the solid goalkeeping of Jaffe, the defence shut down CAMO. The offence kept counterattacking producing four goals to carry the Jets to a 12-8 victory and give Toronto the Eastern Conference championship.
 

The Jets will travel to Gatineau in May for the National Championships.