With contributions from Jaden Ho. Photograph: CarterVizion. March 9th, 2024
Another regular season in Burlington has come to a close with a long list of achievements as individuals and as an organization. Injuries plagued the team throughout the year with 16 Affiliate Players used, with several opportunities for members of the U18AA Barracudas to make an impact. But the team rose to the occasion every time, showcasing a ‘next player up’ mentality for notable performances from players throughout the lineup.
Pittsburgh Tournament
The usual fixture on our calendar to start the season helped our team gel immediately. They played hard, battling through injuries, and ultimately losing in the Gold Final. The journey to the final included a gritty win against the BK Selects, one of the top teams in North America. The top performers were Claire Murdodch & Sara Manness, with Kate Manness netting 4 goals from blueline. Keelin Song from the U18AA Toronto Aeros joined our team for the tournament, with Charlotte Pieckenhagen still out of the lineup from an injury.
Stoney Creek University Showcase
The tournament format can be unforgivable, and Burlington felt that in Stoney Creek. Despite a solid effort against more of the continent’s top teams, the Jr. Cudas finished 2nd in their group and thus fell out of contention for a spot in the top three finals due to a tie-breaker. Burlington dominated Cambridge in the Brass Final to finish the tournament as the Brass Champions. The top performers from the Showcase were Murdoch and Bryn Prier. Sara Manness wasn’t far behind, scoring 4 goals in 6 games played. Maddy McCready of the U18AA Barracudas and Ella Humphery joined the Jr. team for the tournament. McCready had a goal and 2 assists in 6 games as an AP, while Humphrey signed on with the Jr. Team soon after the showcase. The Goalie tandem of Mooney and Davidson only allowed a total of 6 goals against and combining for 3 shutouts over the course of the Showcase.
The Regular Season kicked off a few days later with 4 straight dominant home wins over Brampton, Bluewater, Whitby, and Waterloo. The home opener against Brampton was once again a spectacle for all those in attendance. After falling behind by a goal in the 1st period, Mooney shut the door and allowed Murdoch to pot a hat trick, her first at the Junior level. Goals from Sara Manness, Ellie Markakis, and TJ Flores rounded out a 6-1 score and a commanding start to the regular season.
The rest of Opening Weekend was more of the same for Burlington, as they outscored their opponents 15-1 through Saturday and Sunday’s games. Sara Manness became the second Barracuda to pick up their 1stJunior hat trick in a 5-1 win against the Whitby Wolves.
Sadie Davidson collected her 1st Junior career shutout in a 6-0 drubbing of the Waterloo Ravens. Mooney upheld that standard, slamming the door on the Kingston IceWolves in October for her 1st Junior shutout.
US/CAN Cup – Detroit Loop
A Tournament that Burlington has had success at in recent memory kicked off with an unfortunate loss to the U19 Chicago Mission. The Jr. team was able to recover, outscoring their opponents 25-2 in the following three games to secure a spot in the Silver Final. A 4-2 victory over Waterloo and a Silver Champions banner to take home from Detroit, despite playing with just 10 skaters.
Murdoch led the way with 9 goals and 9 assists, with her linemate Prier netting 5 goals and 7 assists. Avery Peters and Mackenzie Allen stepped up with 7 points each, while TJ Flores took over as 1st line Centre with Sara Manness out after 2 games. The reunion of Flores, Prier, and Murdoch got Flores to 8 points, including two crucial goals in the Silver Final against Waterloo. Ella Humphrey had a breakout performance, notching 6 helpers, while Deija Houston had 5 points in 4 games.
Soon after arriving home, it was announced that Sara and Kate Manness would represent Manitoba and Claire Murdoch would skate for Team Ontario Red at the U18 National Championship in Dawson Creek, BC November 5th-11th.
This long October road trip ended with the Barracudas back at Mainway for a couple of games, including their annual Spooky Halloween game on the 29th. With an audience littered with kids in costume, they put on a show and trounced the Ottawa Jr. 67s 9-1. Avery Holmes was the forerunner, scoring her 1st Junior natural hat trick. Sara Manness also had another hattrick after returning to the lineup the previous week.
U18 National Championship
The Manness Twins and Claire Murdoch flew West to begin November and represented their provinces at the U18 National Championship. Both Sara and Claire were honoured with A’s on their jerseys, and demonstrated their leadership abilities on the ice throughout the tournament.
Sara Manness was named Tournament MVP and led the Championship with 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points. Kate Manness was a strong addition to the blueline and contributed with multiple assists, but Team Manitoba ultimately finished 8th. Claire Murdoch scored 7 points and helped Team Ontario Red to a 3-2 Gold Medal victory in overtime over Team Quebec. After being down 1-0 for the first half of the game, Murdoch tapped in a rebound to tie the game early in the 3rd. She made the pass to Tristan Thompson that led to a go-ahead goal midway through the frame. Quebec tied it up, but Murdoch provided the screen on the Quebec goalie for the overtime winner.
Community Initiatives
A staple on our team’s off-ice calendar, our players headed to Gore Park in Hamilton to help feed the less fortunate. On the morning of November 18th, our players distributed hot meals and non-perishable food items to over 750 people. Our mentorship program was in full swing by this point in the season as well. Our four sister teams of U11AA, U11A, U11B, U9B received relationship building throughout the year and attended our games when they were able. Our players attended their practices and supported skill-developing drills for these young players in the hope they will one day be members of our team! Gameday non-perishable donations for Wellington Church and Socks for Hope were accepted from fans in attendance frequently throughout the season to support our local community.
Charlotte Pieckenhagen scored in her Barracudas debut later that November night in a 10-0 thumping of the Toronto Aeors. Ellie Markakis potted a pair, while Addison Butler got her first U22Elite point on Pieckenhagen’s goal. Burlington continued to roll through Thanksgiving and our annual Pink in the Rink game, which was a 4-1 win over Cambridge. Our organization was so proud to announce Mackenzie Allen’s commitment to Yale University during this run. She will join Avery Peters at Yale, who also signed there earlier in the season.
US/CAN CUP – Kitchener Loop
Burlington entered the tournament as the defending Gold Champions and started strong with three-straight wins, increasing their goal total with each game. A tie with RINK Hockey meant our team lost another tiebreaker and resulted in Burlington being unable to defend their Gold Medal. A consolidation game was played against the North York Storm, which was a 6-0 route.
Claire Murdoch led the team with 4 goals and 5 assists, while each of Avery Holmes, Bryn Prier, and Mackenzie Allen had 5 points. Lauren Mooney had the final shutout against North York, while Sadie Davidson played a strong game against RINK, one of the top teams in Canada.
The Jr. Cudas closed out 2023 with two huge weekends, outscoring Barrie and Ridley 18-3 to alleviate the disappointing result in Kitchener. Mercedes Cioffi found the back of the net for the first time in her Junior career against Ridley. Following that was our first annual Alumni Weekend. A new tradition on our team’s calendar that we hope to continue in future seasons, several alumni were invited back to Mainway Arena to be celebrated before the Holiday break.
IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship – Zug, Switzerland
Sara Manness, Charlotte Pieckenhagen, and Claire Murdoch spent New Year’s in Zug, Switzerland, preparing to represent Canada at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship. After heavily outscoring their opponents in the round robin, Canada fell to Czechia in the Semi-Finals and met Finland in the Bronze Medal matchup. Canada won 8-1, with Murdoch assisting on Canada’s opening goal. Murdoch finished the tournament with 1 goal and 6 assists, while Sara Manness had 3 helpers and Pieckenhagen had a goal and an assist.
Burlington continued to roll into the new year and kicked off 2024 with an impressive performance against Kingston in one of the tightest games of the season. A full 60 minutes went by without a goal before Avery Peters converted on a cross-ice feed from Ellie Markakis early in the overtime period, giving the Barracudas their first win of the new year. They were without S. Manness, Murdoch, and Pieckenhagen for this effort.
Senior Day was celebrated on March 9th this season against the Central York Panthers. The festivities kicked off with a photo-op with parents and players, followed by the traditional on-ice ceremony that recognized each player’s accomplishments and their commitment to a future school. UConn: Claire Murdoch and Ellie Markakis, Yale: Avery Peters and Mackenzie Allen, Quinnipiac: Bryn Prier, RMU: TJ Flores, Dalhousie: Avery Holmes, TMU: Kalysta Song, Ottawa: Ella Humphrey. We also recognized those graduating from the Central York Panthers before getting underway.
Our team wrapped up the season with the annual Ottawa road trip and dominated our North-Eastern opponents in three straight games. Sadie Davidson made her return from injury and allowed just two goals against in two games. Burlington outscored their opponents 21-3 as the team slowly returned to full strength, gaining the likes of Kalysta Song and Deija Houston back in the lineup.
Burlington wrapped up the season 3rd overall in the league with 102pts. They were 2nd in Goals For with 222, 3rd in Goals Against with 70, and 1st in Penalty Minutes with 328.
Claire Murdoch led the league with 124pts and 73 assists, while sitting 2nd with 51 goals. Sara Manness hit 100pts in her rookie season and was tied with her linemate Bryn Prier in assists with 57. Prier and Ellie Markakis eclipsed 100 career points, while Murdoch concludes her Junior career with 207pts, the most in Jr. Barracudas history. Prier and Markakis also surpassed the 50-career goal mark, with Murdoch, Prier, Markakis, and TJ Flores all transcended 100 games played in the U22Elite. Lauren Mooney led the league in games played and wins, and finished 2nd in shutouts.
Championship Weekend
Burlington prepares for an exciting Championship Weekend in Group B of the Gold Division. It all begins Friday with Game 1 at 7:15PM against the Stoney Creek Sabres. Burlington tied Stoney Creek 2-2 back on November 22nd and beat them 4-1 at home on January 20th. The Sabres finished 6th in the league.
Game 2 is Saturday afternoon at 1:15PM against the Barrie Sharks. Burlington outscored Barrie 12-2 in their two meetings, the first of which was an 8-2 thwarting on December 9th, followed by a 4-0 shutout on January 27th. Barrie was 7th in the U22Elite.
Game 3 takes place Saturday night at 8:45PM against the Durham West Lightning. Burlington has the most experience with Durham following a 2-game exhibition series post-season that resulted in two wins, as well as their two regular season meetings. Durham won their first meeting 4-1 in Ajax on October 1st and Burlington countered with a 3-1 win at home on February 4th.
Catch all the action from the U22Elite Championship Weekend at Scotiabank Pond streamed live on our YouTube Channel.