Rollerhawks takedown top dog
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Photo Courtesy of Steve Stovka
The Bears hadn’t lost a game in over two years and came into the year-end tournament ranked No. 1 in Western Canada.
That is, until Domenic Ficaccio played hero with 1.1 seconds remaining in regulation and forced overtime.
Ficaccio plays for the Strathmore Rollerhawks, a roller hockey team comprised of players from Strathmore and Chestermere.
The Rollerhawks met the Bears in the final June 24 at the Edmonton East Soccer Centre.
The Bears led 4-2 with four minutes left in regulation. After cutting the lead to one, Ficaccio swarmed a rebound and buried the tying goal.
“Dom had a great weekend for us and he somehow managed to get the puck up and over their goalie,” said U10 and U14 Head Coach Steve Stovka. “Once that went in, the Bears were devastated. They were 1.1 seconds away from winning their third title.”
The four-on-four action went into a 10-minute period of sudden death. It was then, off an offensive faceoff, that Philip Raycroft swatted the puck five-hole for the championship-clinching goal two and a half minutes into overtime.
“I have never seen a group of kids celebrate the way these kids did. For them, it probably felt like a David versus Goliath situation.
The gold medal capped off a winning weekend that saw the Rollerhawks tame the Red Deer Snipers 5-4 in the round robin opener, lose to the Bears 8-2 and squeak past the Edmonton Rams in the final round robin game June 23.
In the semis, the Rollerhawks drew the Snipers and handled them 6-3 the morning of the championship game.
Upon returning home as champions, the Rollerhawks had to wait and see about a result from their Calgary Roller Hockey League. After winning the regular season title, some bad luck in the playoffs put them into a tiebreaker scenario for the league championship, which went June 27.
The U10 AA already captured their Calgary Roller Hockey League title before their trip to Western Nationals in Edmonton last weekend.
The defending champions were positioned nicely to defend their title after picking up round robin wins over a select team from Saskatchewan and Manitoba 9-1, downing the Red Deer Gunners 7-1, but losing to the Edmonton Lightning 7-4.
With no semifinals, the top two teams met in the finals, which happened to be a rematch of the final round robin game.
“That Edmonton team had our number all year,” said Stovka. “Our team is all nine- and 10-year-olds, but they had a couple 11-year-olds that are much bigger and quicker than everyone. We just couldn’t contain them.”
The Rollerhawks were struck by the Lightning once again and when it mattered most, as they lost the gold medal game 8-4.
Trips to nationals are only available at the older levels for roller hockey, so this trip to Westerns all but ended the Rollerhawks season. But after seeing success with both age groups over the past two years, there is a lot to look forward to next summer.