ATLASVILLE, SOUTH AFRICA – The U18 South African national championships took place from Monday the 27th September to Wednesday 29th September 2010 at Festival Mall Ice Rink in Kempton Park, Johannesburg.
The teams competing were Western Province, Gauteng A (Cats) and Gauteng B (Lions). For most of the players from Gauteng A (Cats) and Gauteng B (Lions) it was their first taste of hockey at a level that is generally higher than that of the league games.
Western Province bolstered and experienced side with a number of U18 National Team players who competed in Aprils’ World Championships. Their forwards played very well amongst each other and the experience of Uthman Samaai who represented South Africa at the Senior World Championships in April showed. Jade Johnson, another U18 National team player was also instrumental in the domination of Western Province as was their Defence man Chad Williams who is an immensely strong kid at 17.
The first game of the tournament saw the team from Western Province take on the Gauteng B (Lions) team. Unfortunately this game was a very one sided event with Western Province running out 20-1 winners. That evening saw Western Province take on Gauteng A (Cats). This promised to be an exciting game and the first period started off with a fast pace with the young Gauteng Forward, Spencer Du Preez taking the first opportunity of the game. He deked the WP keeper and put the puck in the net to make it 1-0 Gauteng A (Cats). This however did not last long as WP answered right back. They then continued to dominate the first period scoring 4 more goals to make it a 5-1 period at the end of the first.
The second period was much of the same with WP dominating the Gauteng team and peppering their goal tender, Steven Ryan with shot after shot. They put another 5 past him this period, much to disappoint of the predominantly Gauteng crown in attendance.
The National team coaches then gave the Gauteng team a talk during the break and this seemed to spur them on. Their defence seemed more organised and their forwards applied pressure at every opportunity they got. The 16 year old McFarlane, who is a monster of a kid, started using his size to his advantage and put a few big hits in on the WP team. This seemed to slow their momentum which allowed the smaller players to show what they were capable of once the WP teams hitting game had been slowed down. 13 year old Jack Flynn and 14 year old Spencer Du Preez, two of the smallest kids on the ice, seemed to be a handful for WP to handle. Flynn, who plays with a heart the size of a giant was a man on a mission every time he stepped on the ice. It was a great sight to see such young kids who are half the size of the other kids playing as hard as they can and throwing hits every time they had an opportunity to. Flynn, who ended up on the ice with Samaai, the tallest and strongest of the WP players, stopped him almost every time he touched the puck by putting his tiny frame in front of the 6’4 frame of Samaai. With this happening you could see a momentum shift and the Gauteng team put 2 quick goals in against the WP team which made it 10-3 score line. The WP however would not be undone and put 4 back past the Gauteng team. This meant the end of the game; Western Province won 14-3.
On the morning of the 28th Western Province once again took on the Gauteng B (Lions) team. This time they trounced the B team 19-1.
That evening saw the rematch of Western Province vs. Gauteng a (Cats). The Cats were sporting different shirts as in their previous match as the teams shirts had clashed as they were a very similar colour. The Cats team seemed a much changed team from the night before and didn’t allow Western Province to dominate them. Their defence was much more organise as was their fore-check. Steven Ryan, in goals for Gauteng A (Cats) seemed a much more composed keeper and pulled off a few great saves early on to hold the Cats in the game. Try as they may, the Western Province team managed to find a few lapses on concentration and when this happened they capitalised by scoring. They put 3 in, making it to the end of the first period 3-0 up.
Mcfarlane along with JJ Brand seemed to the dominant physical forces of the night, laying out the WP team every time they got the chance. This was the only way that they could manage to contain the WP team, as with faster and more skilled players it was always going to be an uphill battle but the Gauteng team seemed up for it. Their Defence pairing of Justin Harman and Werner Van Niekerk, who both represented SA at the U18 World Championships in April, seemed to have things together and were controlling the game at the back. Xander Botha, who also represented SA, seemed to be giving the WP defence a tough time down the wing; a good skater with decent hands, he seemed to like to break in down the wing and go around the outside of the defence. This worked on a few occasions as when he did he always had the chance to make a pass to the slot, which caused the WP keeper, Adam De Carvalho a lot of problems. WP once again broke down the defence of the Cats and got a goal. 4-0 it was to WP and this is how the second period ended.
The third period began with much the same pace and frenetic energy as the second. Bodies were flying all over the ice as Gauteng tried to stamp a physical dominance on the game once more. The forward pairing of Jack Flynn and Spencer Du Preez seemed to giving the Western Province team a hard time as they are both small and agile with good hands. Du Preez let a wrist shot go as he stepped over the blue line which rebounded off the boards behind the goals, De Carvalho was not expecting it to come back as quick as it did, and it almost caught him unaware and sneaked in back off the back of his leg, luckily for him this didn’t happen. It took a while for the Cats to put a goal on but eventually half way through the third they managed to score. Once again the Western Province team answered back with 2 goals. This made the game 6-1. The Cats however didn’t give up and fought all the way until the final buzzer. The game ended and the score was 6-1 to Western Province.
Although a much improved team the night before and better game all around, it was still not the result Gauteng Lions were looking for.
This meant that after 4 games played, Western Province topped the table with 4 wins, second was Gauteng A (Cats) and third was Gauteng B (Lions). Western Province would be champions of South Africa but the fight for the silver was still on as Gauteng A (Cats) and B (Lions) had to face each other twice.
In the first game of Gauteng A (Cats) (Cats) vs. B (Lions), the A team dominated them 14-0 with Steven Ryan obtaining a shutout. The Second game once again saw the A team victorious but by a score that showed the B team had improved throughout the tournament which is always a promising sign of the hockey that’s been played. This time the A team won 6-0 and with this victory took second place and silver medal at the SA Championships.
Final standings for South African National U18 Ice Hockey Championships:
1 – Western Province
2 – Gauteng A (Cats)
3 – Gauteng B (Lions)
I spoke to Ashley Bock (AB), the assistant coach of the U18 National Team after the tournament:
PHN: So what are the plans for the team?
AB: Well we don’t really know any plans for the team as of yet until the team is announced, but this year will most definitely be different to the past year in terms of preparation as we are looking at holding a few training camps with the opening of the Vaal Ice Rink. This ice rink provides a great platform to hold camps as they have great ice, a swimming pool across the road for water exercises and a sports field with accommodation on the opposite side of the road. PHN: How was the standard of hockey at the SA Championships?
AB: I am impressed with the quality of the kids, the games were of a great standard, especially the second game between Western Province and Gauteng A. This showed what level the other players need to get to in order to be considered for selection. I am however very impressed with courage and love for the game shown by the Gauteng B team; they gave it their all every game. We have to understand that a lot of these kids have only been playing for just over a year. I hope that they continue to play and strive to be a part of the National Team in the future.
Western Province was an extremely strong team as you can see from the scores of the tournament. My congratulations go out to them on been crowned SA National U18 Ice Hockey Champions.
Well that’s all from this years junior SA Championships, but next weekend from the 8th to 10th of October sees the Senior SA Championships. This is touted to be a hotly contested tournament between Gauteng, Western Province A, Western Province B and Southern Gauteng. Western Province A are the reigning SA Champions but in a few discussions with Gauteng coach, Andre Marais, he has made it clear that they will be doing everything in their power to take back the Championship crown and be named SA Champions 2010.10.01. Keep an eye out for my next report which will be on the SA Senior Ice Hockey Championships.
All the best until then.
Contact Gary.Bock@prohockeynews.com
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