NS Flames Representing Canada at the World Championships

Article submitted by Samantha Shirley

Seven members of the NS Flames represented Canada this year at the World Inline Hockey Championships in Varese, Italy. The 7-day tournament featured the top inline players from around the World. Team Canada was one of the favorites to win the Gold. The opening game of the tournament we faced our North American rival the United States. We ended up losing 5-1, though not for a lack of effort. We quickly recovered from the tough lost and focused on the next games ahead. We got our offensive going after beating Australia 13-2 and took care of Finland next with a 15-3 victory. Host team Italy was next on our list. Italy has never competed in the Women's division and surprisingly they competed well. After a quick 2-0 lead, we settled down and capitalized on our chances, the final score was 6-0. During our stay in Varese, we got a chance explore the quaint town along with seeing the fashion capital of the World, Milan.

The Semi Final game we were up against the Czech Republic. A team we knew very well. They beat us last year in the Final Game in OT. Everyone was excited and focused on the game. Despite our slow start, we battled back and tied the game 3-3 after a period and half of play. Momentum was on our side for majority of the game; however the Czechs wouldn't back down. After two periods of play the game was tied 4-4. Two periods of overtime did not solve anything. It wasn't until the third overtime; the Czechs got a lucky break in front of our goaltender, which ended the game. We were disappointed with the loss, but we knew we gave it our all. Although we didn't move forward to the Championship Game, we were determined to come home with a medal and in order to do that we would have to beat France. We came out flying for the Bronze Medal game and got a couple early goals and never looked back. The final score was 8-2.

It was an amazing experience for everyone and it would not have been possible without the help of Richard Ropchan, Donna Forbes and Kendra Magnus

Members of the team include: LaToya Clarke, Michelle Bonello, Samantha Shirley, Megan Aarts, Kathy Devereaux, Joanne Eustace & Laura Hosier.