In their first season as a red level team, the Brew City Blades A Team has managed to win the whole shooting match to bring home the red level championship in the WCHL. The team swept the competition in four games to come out on top in the WCHL Championship tournament, held here in Milwaukee on March 12th through 14th.
In the first game, Friday night March 12th, the Blades took on the X-Factor from Chicago and were victorious, with a final score of 4-1.
The second game, played the following morning against perennial rivals the Chicago Flash was another victory, and the final score was 5-2. In this game, however, Dawn Ninnemann was injured and would have to sit out the remainder of the tournament.
Not to be discouraged by the loss of one of their forwards, the Blades ladies came roaring back that evening against the University of Illinois and beat them by a final score of 7-4. The Blades had never played this team before and U of I came into the tournament with an unbeaten record in regular season play. The Blades gave them a taste of their game with strong passing, hard back checking, and great overall teamwork. After a bit of a scare in the second period where U of I was allowed to score three goals, the Blades pulled it together and finished the game out strong and advanced to the final round.
The final round was a rematch with U of I. Even though the ladies from Illinois came in looking for some redemption and a way to win the tournament, the Blades stood strong and won with a final score of 4-1.
The Brew City Blades A Team came into the tournament determined to play their game. They were successful and not only brought home their first red level championship, but they successfully defended last year's white level championship.
