(The West Ottawa Ringette team U19A Frechette are heading to the 2024 Eastern Canadian Ringette Championships in Charlottetown, PEI to represent Ontario. They are wished the best by Councillor Glen Gower. Members of the team heading to PEI are: Anneka Neathery, Anna Da Ros, Libby Clow, Quinn Cameron, Trinity Stevenson, Tara McGaraughty, Samantha Keogan, Emilie Couturier, Rachel Ferguson, Ella Fracker, Quinn Koch, Ayla Drew, Amanda Da Ros, and team staff. Photos: Stittsville Central)
A local ringette team will be heading to Prince Edward Island to represent Ontario. The West Ottawa U19A team are coming off a major win and the Provincial Championship has earned them the right to represent Ontario at the Eastern Canadian Ringette Championship in Charlottetown. Throughout the team’s regular season, they went a perfect 17-0-0 and held an insane +80 goal differential. The team also entered into 4 different tournaments taking home the gold in Paris (Ontario), Waterloo, Nepean, and at their home tournament here in West Ottawa. The team consists of 13 hard-working players who have really come together as a team over the course of the season.
- Sweater #1 – Anneka Neathery
- Sweater #2 – Anna Da Ros
- Sweater #4 – Libby Clow
- Sweater #5 – Quinn Cameron
- Sweater #6 – Trinity Stevenson
- Sweater #7 – Tara McGaraughty
- Sweater #8 – Samantha Keogan
- Sweater #11 – Emilie Couturier
- Sweater #12 – Rachel Ferguson
- Sweater #15 – Ella Fracker
- Sweater #17 – Quinn Koch
- Sweater #18 – Ayla Drew
- Sweater #19 – Amanda Da Ros
- Head Coach – Lindsay Frechette
- Assistant Coach – Sheri-Ann Soucie Lecuyer
- Assistant Coach – Mark McGaraughty
- Assistant Coach – Barry Gorham
- Trainer – Dee Blaine
- Manager – Wendy Da Ros
Councillor Glen Gower was on hand to wish the team well and present the Ottawa flag as a bit of good luck. He said, “we’ll be cheering you on from back home here in Stittsville. I brought an Ottawa flag to take with you.”
At the Provincial Championships, the team went down to Guelph to compete against all the best teams in the province for the right to represent Ontario at Nationals. They finished second in round-robin play. When it came to the playoffs; however, no team was gonna stop them. In the semi-finals, they won a hard-fought battle against Gloucester-Cumberland in overtime to advance to the finals where they would meet Guelph. During the gold medal game, the team worked together to secure the 3-1 win and their spot as Provincial Champions.
We talked to player Anneka Neathery who has been playing the sport since she was 10. This won’t be her first trip to nationals as she went with her team when she was 13. She recounted the last time she went to nationals she did something very special “At the previous Nationals I attended in Oshawa, I was 13 and entered into the Skills Competition winning the competition, beating 18 year-olds.” When asked about rematching up against the Guelph team who will also be going as Ontario’s second team she said “We beat them in the finals, so we can do it again!”
We also talked to forward Emilie Couturier who said “I’m very excited to join my teammates as they play in the Nationals in PEI.” Emilie, in 2018, was on a West Ottawa team that won the Ottawa Sports Award for making it to Nationals as well.
Head coach Lindsay Frechette said “For many of these players this will be their final time playing together as a team as they move on to other opportunities next year. The girls are looking forward to playing in one final tournament, and hopefully securing a medal for our province!”
The opening ceremonies for the championships will start on April 11th. All of Stittsville will be cheering on their hometown team trying to bring the gold back to Ontario. For more information on the tournament go to ecrcs.ca.
Wishing you all the very best…have fun and enjoy I am sure you will continue your winning streak