The championship game between Peewee AA girls teams in the Females for Hockey Nova Scotia league had to be called off Saturday after a staggering seven periods of overtime when it was unable to break a 1-1 tie. Parents and officials were concerned as the marathon match went on and on that the young players — 10 and 11 years — were at the limit of their physical and psychological capacity. The league declared co-champions and sent everyone home. Peter Twohig, regional director for Females for Hockey Nova Scotia said “I’ve seen a lot of triple overtime games, but I’ve never seen anything like I watched today.”
DUCKS VS SELECTS
The game was for the Peewee AA championship between the TASA Ducks of Tantallon and the Pictou County Selects. The game started at 11 a.m., and was finally called at about 3:30 p.m., after the seventh 15 minute overtime period. “It was amazing to me to watch throughout overtime. They were playing with heart and determination. They’re really exceptional athletes,” said Twohig. There had been no scoring since the second period. The girls were given oranges and other sustenance to keep them going through each 15-minute period, but eventually parents and coaches began to worry about the girls’ safety, Twohig said. “By the time it got to the 7th overtime, it was getting clear to me a lot of the girls were at their limit — their physical limit, and also their psychological limit too.” Hockey Nova Scotia has no rules on how to handle such circumstances. Twohig consulted with league officials, and they decided to end the game after 10 periods. Stephen Murray, director of female hockey in the province, said they initially thought they would schedule another championship game later.
SHOOTOUT VS OT
“We’re not going to settle it by way of a shootout, it just doesn’t seem fair to these kids,” said Murray. That’s a judgement not shared by minor hockey organizations elsewhere. Shootouts are the accepted way of deciding a match in Ontario minor hockey. At the recent March Madness Tournament sponsored by the Wildcats Hockey Association, Atom teams (10 and under) from Nepean and Leaside battled to a 1-1 tie after three regular periods and an overtime period of five minutes. It then took three shootout rounds for Nepean to win 2-1. The emotional toll on some of the Leaside girls was evident. They were all fine a few minutes later at the silver and gold awards but parents would probably conclude that the game ended when it should have. It’s tough to lose a game in a 3-round shootout
