sports@mapleridgenews.com
Two Maple Ridge girls are celebrating a provincial hockey championship.
After the fourth overtime and 117 minutes of intense hockey, the Langley Lightning bantam A1 girls hockey team won their first-ever B.C. championship.
On the team are assistant captain Allison Jakeway and her sister Emily Jakeway, both currently students at Maple Ridge secondary.
Allison and Emily are also former Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey products of six years, who left boys hockey to pursue girls rep opportunities. Both play defence and make up a strong blueline group that surrendered just three goals over six games at the provincials.
“We have been playing playoff hockey all year to get to this point,” said Emily. “We don’t score many goals, but we don’t give up many opportunities either.”
The provincial final lasted almost five hours, running into a fourth overtime period.
In the first period, Allison scored on a shot from the point to make the score 1-0 in favour of Langley. North Shore responded with its own goal prior to the end of the first period.
Both teams settled into a defensive struggle, and no more goals were scored until 97 minutes later, by Langley’s Hailey Maurice who crashed the net for a rebound.