Pool Use and City of Ottawa Rules
Note to Athletes and Parents from Valerie Walker, Titans Competitive General Manager

We ask for your assistance in being pro-active regarding these behaviours and are counting on your cooperation.

Mother's Day Brunch at Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Airport

Alison Poirier (Titans Women’s Coach) and The Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Airport will be hosting a Mother's Day Brunch on Sunday May 10^th at 11am in their ballroom.   The brunch will be very extensive including a prime rib carving station.  Adults are $39.95, Children 6-12 are $12.95 and kids under 6 are free. There will be face painting and balloon animals for children.  For more information, including full menu or reservations, please contact Alison Poirier directly at 613-288-9010 or alison.poirier@hilton.com. The Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Airport are strong supporters of the Titans- they have provided us with complimentary meeting room space for Board functions and AGM, and will be hosting our Titans banquet in June 2008. We encourage you to support them!


Stingrays in Etobicoke Apr 24-26th, 2009
Submitted by Greg Sidebottom

The Stingrays attended the OWP tournament in Etobicoke last weekend.  They had their work cut out for them as they entered in the 18U women's division to get some tough games in to tune up for 16U Nationals next month.  As a couple of regular Stingrays were unavailable, Sarah from the Marlins and Jessica from the Seals joined for a team of 9 with Alison coaching.  The other teams in the division were 18U teams from York, Hamilton, and Scarborough as well as a team called "Hork" which was a combination of 16U players from Hamilton and York.  The Hork team is likely similar to the third Ontario team the Titans 16U girls will see at nationals.  At this year's 18U provincials, Titans 18U teams took gold and silver with Hamilton beating Scarborough for the bronze. 

After leaving close to noon on Friday in three different cars piloted by Alison, Aloysia, and Sue, we checked into the hotel , then headed out for a 5:30pm dinner at Lone Star.  Then it was off to the pool for our first game at 8:55pm against Hamilton. 

The Stingrays played good defense and goaltending against Hamilton but did not demonstrate their best offensive skills, seldom penetrating deep against the physically stronger Hamilton team and not executing the quick pass-shot sequences required to score on Nicoloa Colterjohn, Hamilton's all-star goalie.  The Stingrays were always within reach if they could have generated some offense, only down 2-0 at the half and 4-0 after three quarters.  Monique added one goal for the Stingrays in the fourth quarter with the game ending in a 5-1 Stingrays loss. 

Anticipating a busy day and an early start on Saturday with three games plus a skills clinic, it was back to the hotel to settle down and try to get some sleep.  Sleep turned out to somewhat hard to come by with some noisy neighbors in the hotel.  Alison lodged the first noise complaint with hotel security and, when that was ineffective, used her authority from the hotel industry to finally quiet the noise makers with a call to their room explaining that "there would be serious consequences" if the noise continued.  Things quieted down very quickly after that!  So the girls were looking a little groggy for the 6:30am Saturday wake up call but charged up with a early breakfast to get ready for an 8:15am game against York. 

The girls had some early chances against York with some man-up situations and Jessica kept the Stingrays in the game with some big saves including one from a quick backhand from the hole.  But only York was able to score, building up a 4-0 lead by the half.  In the third quarter, Chantal almost got the Stingrays on the board with a post shot that went off the back of the York goalie's head and almost in.  Finally, Sophie got the Stingrays on the board in the fourth quarter with an excellently executed quick shot off a pass, which is the only way to score on goalies at this level.  In the end, the Stingrays went down 7-1 but showed some improvements in their offensive execution. 

After this game, we had some time to snack and relax and nap in the sun to rest up for the not too popular 11:00am skills clinic followed by a quick lunch in the short break before a 1:45pm game against Hork.  Wear and tear put the Stingrays down to one sub for this game, but they were extra motivated to put in a good showing against their 16U rivals at this tournament. 

The Stingrays started out slow in the Hork game, falling behind 4-0 partway through the second quarter.  But near the half, they seemed to be sparked to life by a big Jess save on a backhand from Junior national team member Emily Torrens.   That was followed up quickly by a Chantal goal to get the Stingrays on the board before the half.  The Stingrays really came to life in the third quarter, starting with a steal by Johanna which set up a goal by Monique.  Then Sarah nearly scored with a power shot off the post, and shortly after Johanna scored to bring the Stingrays within one, down 4-3.  The Stingrays continued to dominate in the remainder of the third quarter with big steals by Demi and Sarah, and a tying goal by Monique, winning a fight with three Hork players at the net.  But unfortunately Emily Torrens broke the tie in the final seconds of the third, which switched the momentum back to Hork in the fourth quarter.  Chantal added a final goal with 10 seconds left in the game for a 9-5 Stingrays loss.  It was disappointing to not win, but the Stingrays could be proud that they played well and proved that they could play at the level of a team which was the best of two other clubs. 

Everybody was understandably tired after almost four hours in the pool so far, so we went back to the hotel to rest up and do homework before refueling with a 4:30pm dinner at Boston Pizza.  While eating, the beautiful summer day turned into a wild thunderstorm that knocked out TV reception and traffic lights.  This is the same storm that eventually hit Ottawa and knocked out power later that evening.  Luckily our hotel and the pool did not lose power.

The girls were rested up and psyched for the 7:15pm game against Scarborough and came out flying with goals by Monique and Chantal in the first quarter for their first lead of the tournament.  Scarborough turned the tables in the second with their aggressive play to take over with a 4-2 lead by the half.  But Scarborough's rough play started to catch up with them in the second half with many offensive and defensive fouls being called.  A 5 meter shot drawn by Chantal resulted in a Sophie goal to pull back within 2 with the Stingrays trailing 5-3 at the end of the third.  Then with two Scarborough players kicked out in the fourth, Sophie scored again to bring the Stingrays within one, down 5-4.  But Scarborough had more gas left in the tank and eventually prevailed 7-4. 

As you can imagine, the girls were pretty worn out at the end of this day so it was straight back to the hotel for quiet time and early sleep for most.  The good news was only one game on Sunday to decide 3rd and 4th (Hork was not participating in the playoffs), so wake up call was at a nice 9:30am.  Everybody was bright eyed at breakfast and ready for what turned out to be a rematch with Scarborough at 11:50am. 

This game started out looking good with Sophie scoring the first goal and Jess making a big save on a Stingrays kickout.  Chantal scored in the second quarter to keep the Stingrays in the game down 3-2 and Demi scored in the third to keep it close with the score 5-3 in favor of Scarborough.  Mira took on the challenge of checking 6 foot tall Sarah from Scarborough without any hesitation, again demonstrating her great "work hard and never give up" attitude which was evident in her team play throughout the weekend.  Chanelle made some great defensive switches, helping her teammates who may have been beaten up in the pool.  But unlike the last game, the refs weren't calling many fouls on Scarborough and their rough play took its toll on the Stingrays, eventually falling in an 8-3 loss. 

Even thought the Stingrays didn't win any games, they showed that when they are at their best they have what it takes to compete at this level.  These good hard games against big strong opponents were great preparation for 16U Nationals.  Lookout Montreal, here we come!