All NWS teams were in Richmond attending the Richmond Girls Hockey Tournament on March 21-23. The teams played at the Tier I level and will be testing the experience gained from the season against some of the best teams in the western Canadian area.

The U12s took second in Burnaby (two years in a row) and are ready for a win as they head for a practice in Bellingham, then into Canada for the event. The team has really come together this season - and has a waiting list several players deep - so they are ready to go.

The U14s are the defending champions from last year, so they will have their hands full as teams will be trying to knock them off the pedestal. Several injuries have caused some last minute recruiting, but the girls will be ready to play.

The U19s play competitively every time they go north, and this tourney should prove no different. They have greatly improved over the season by attending Polar Bear, Lake Placid and Thoroughbreds tournaments. This will be the final tournament for several of the players as they will be headed into their college hockey careers after this.

The Richmond tournament is the season finale for the NWS. All three teams will be there: U12, U14, U19.

U12s - Playing in the PeeWee division was good for the U12s as it stretched their abilities and made them better players and a better team. Made up of half PeeWee and half Squirt players, the team went 1-3 on the weekend, competing in every game right to the end. The U19 coaches helped on the bench as Kim was out of town, so the players took away a new coach experience as well.

The most exciting moment had to be the winning goal in the final game. The score was tied for much of the contest and with a minute left in the third period, it appeared that it would remain that way. However, with anticipation the NWS picked off a pass and scored on a 1 on 0 situation to win the game.

U14s - Injuries, injuries, injuries. A total of 5 players were missing from the team, so it was a short bench all weekend for the U14s. Playing at the Bantam level (mostly Tier I teams) the U14s played very good hockey. They tied their first contest, but lost in the next 3. However, every game was played with heart and with the 'legs' that they had. Again, the U19 coaches helped fill the bench as Kris was not able to make the event.

The highlight (or low-light, however you look at it) was Monica telling the team that she will be moving to Maryland next season. The team presented her with flowers and a going away hug at the end of their final game of the weekend. We will all miss you Monica.

U19s - Coming off three very high level tournaments, the U19s were sharp. They won their first two games convincingly, then dropped the third. However, with the two wins they found themselves in the semi-final game. In the semi-finals it was a back and forth content with the final goal contested as after the whistle ... so the U19s lost 1-2. It was a great tournament for the older group where they could prove what they had learned during the season - to compete hard with the best in the country.

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