The end of the season is here. The OLA minor Provincials wrapped up this weekend in Oakville, ON with the Final Six weekend. This tournament consisted of the top six teams in the Peewee, Bantam and Midget ‘A’ divisions. Each team played each other once, for a total of five games. The top two teams were then placed in the Gold medal game and the third and fourth teams played for the Bronze. There were many exciting games throughout the weekend. Every game was extremely important to each team and they basically had to win every game to have a shot at the Gold medal game.
There was a crew of twelve officials who worked the Final Six this year, which I happened to be a part of. We worked 3-4 games each on Friday and Saturday and then each had a single game on Sunday. I worked the Peewee Gold medal game that was played between Oakville and Whitby. This game was extremely close throughout the game with a wild comeback at the conclusion of the game. Oakville was leading the entire game and had a 4-3 lead with three minutes left in the third period when Whitby turned the tables. Whitby scored two quick goals to make the score 5-4 in their favor with a minute and a half remaining. These are the best games to be on the floor as a referee because the players made our jobs very easy by just playing awesome lacrosse. Whitby added an empty netter before it was all said and done and won the Peewee ‘A’ Provincial title in shocking fashion.
I also worked as the standby official for the Bantam Gold medal game. As a standby official you are in the timebox or penalty box area and are responsible for ensuring the timekeepers get everything right and there are no other issues. A standby is also there in case there is an incident where a third official is needed on the floor or in case a referee gets injured during the game. This game was a 3-3 tie going into the third between St. Catherines and Oakville, but St.Catherines scored three unanswered goals in the third to take the Bantam ‘A’ Provincial title. It was a great way to wrap up the summer season at the Final Six tournament and I look forward to CLAX beginning soon.
