While the women's teams from PPF (Waterloo) and Zephr (Vancouver) were the clear winners of the CUC Saturday Party, the coed division was proud
ly represented by many of its teams.The party was unique- Sectioned off outdoor block party downtown with access to several bars. The outdoor angle was hugely popular, and many were quite sad when the outdoor music turned off early. With the indoor part packed, teams and players remained outside and had their own party till the wee hours.
The Mixed final was a tougher game to commentate. We really could have used a production meeting the night before. We managed to acquire the numbers to go with the names just before the start, and we did the best we could. I was personally disappointed that I had played against so many of these ONYX players in open for several years and knew so few names before the match. Having Chaos come back from the dead after years away from nationals didn't help us, but we managed to get players and background from TD Corey Draper.
2009 Mixed Final- ONYX (Quebec City) versus Chaos (Winnipeg)
Starting right after the thrilling Open final between Mephisto and Phoenix, the Mixed final really had a big act to follow. Describing how these teams made it to finals, and who failed to make it, dominating our pre game discussion.
Team Fisher Price from Vancouver came in nationals having won four of five nationals they attended. They were also defending world champs and their youth and skill suggested their reign would continue for many years. That still may be the case, but their lack of practicing and their short roster at this year's CUC lead to three surprising upsets from three Quebec teams. When asked what happened to them this year, one player simply said "Quebec happened to us!!!"
ONYX was the team that elimiated TFP in the quarterfinals by a score of 12-8. They then beat Montreal's RIP 15-7 to advance for the final. This was ONYX's second straight final, and they really wanted to improve on their silver medal from 2008.
Chaos from Winnipeg kept defying the odds by beating Monster from Toronto (9-8) and Gecko from Sherbrooke (8-7) on universe to make it to finals. Both the quarter and and semi final were very heated battles, and the local squad felt fortunate to squeak through.
The game started off with a big crowd and even bigger rain fall. It was quite evident that wet disc conditions was going to be a factor in the game. I thought this was an instant advantage for Chaos, as they really wanted to stay away from man to man coverage on ONYX's speedy handlers.
Both teams started by playing zone. Chaos threw a 3-3-1 Chinchilla zone that had no cup and force throws through a maze of players waiting to bid. Of note was Chaos was very reluctant to melt this zone, and were rewarded early with some d's close to their end zone. ONYX countered with a 1-3-3 rabbit zone, with a tall marker and three fast girls providing the backfield pressure. ONYX was so comfortable with this strategy they broke into it even on transition rather than opting for person to person defence.
Chaos took an early lead 4-1 and a timeout was taken by Quebec. ONYX then went a a three point run to tie it at 4. A time out was then called by Winnpeg, and the huddle was very animated. Either this was the type of team that would respond to the time out rant and come out flying, or they would crawl up and get crushed.
Clearly, Chaos was the type of team to respond to their leaders. They got the game back on the next point. Their zone defence was air tight and they forced ONYX to do three things that lead to turns
The match neared time cap and ONYX tried to shake up the lineup and the strategy to get back into the game. However, Chaos was lead throughout the match by a core of excellent players. Donovan Wiebe used his backhand to break the defence at will. Danny Saunders seemed to play every point, being a key handler on offence and being a crucial wall defender in their zone. And the Chaos ladies really showed that they were exactly the kind of efficient and intelligent players that every Mixed teams needs in order to be a champion.
Of all players, the MVP in my opinion was Jared Lehotsky (pictured). Playing deep in the zone defense and serving as the key cutter on offense, Lehotsky was dominate from start to finish. He seemed tireless when fatigue hit other players, and he really had a finals performance that all fans and peers noticed.
The final score was 14-8, and it was a happy surprise for the home team and the fans at Canada Inns Stadium. Chaos entered the finals after years of hibernation, and entered a division where any of the top 8-10 could realistically hope to make the finals. They survived two universe point games on Saturday to take the title.
ONYX, dissapointed with a 2nd place finish for the second year in a row, had to be dissapointed with their performance in the finals. Known throughout the country for their talent and their spirited play, they are a great team that failed to play their best in the very end. A lot of the credit for that can be given to the weather. One can only hope that the team is able to stay together and make another run at CUC 2010 in their home province in addtion to an appearance at World Clubs in the Czech Republic.
Starting right after the thrilling Open final between Mephisto and Phoenix, the Mixed final really had a big act to follow. Describing how these teams made it to finals, and who failed to make it, dominating our pre game discussion.
Team Fisher Price from Vancouver came in nationals having won four of five nationals they attended. They were also defending world champs and their youth and skill suggested their reign would continue for many years. That still may be the case, but their lack of practicing and their short roster at this year's CUC lead to three surprising upsets from three Quebec teams. When asked what happened to them this year, one player simply said "Quebec happened to us!!!"
ONYX was the team that elimiated TFP in the quarterfinals by a score of 12-8. They then beat Montreal's RIP 15-7 to advance for the final. This was ONYX's second straight final, and they really wanted to improve on their silver medal from 2008.
Chaos from Winnipeg kept defying the odds by beating Monster from Toronto (9-8) and Gecko from Sherbrooke (8-7) on universe to make it to finals. Both the quarter and and semi final were very heated battles, and the local squad felt fortunate to squeak through.
The game started off with a big crowd and even bigger rain fall. It was quite evident that wet disc conditions was going to be a factor in the game. I thought this was an instant advantage for Chaos, as they really wanted to stay away from man to man coverage on ONYX's speedy handlers.
Both teams started by playing zone. Chaos threw a 3-3-1 Chinchilla zone that had no cup and force throws through a maze of players waiting to bid. Of note was Chaos was very reluctant to melt this zone, and were rewarded early with some d's close to their end zone. ONYX countered with a 1-3-3 rabbit zone, with a tall marker and three fast girls providing the backfield pressure. ONYX was so comfortable with this strategy they broke into it even on transition rather than opting for person to person defence.
Chaos took an early lead 4-1 and a timeout was taken by Quebec. ONYX then went a a three point run to tie it at 4. A time out was then called by Winnpeg, and the huddle was very animated. Either this was the type of team that would respond to the time out rant and come out flying, or they would crawl up and get crushed.
Clearly, Chaos was the type of team to respond to their leaders. They got the game back on the next point. Their zone defence was air tight and they forced ONYX to do three things that lead to turns
- Get trapped on the sideline and force tough throws
- Make ONYX throw so many throws that the weather caused some key drops and throwing errors
- Entice ONYX to throw deep to players covered.. namely by Jared Lehotsky.
The match neared time cap and ONYX tried to shake up the lineup and the strategy to get back into the game. However, Chaos was lead throughout the match by a core of excellent players. Donovan Wiebe used his backhand to break the defence at will. Danny Saunders seemed to play every point, being a key handler on offence and being a crucial wall defender in their zone. And the Chaos ladies really showed that they were exactly the kind of efficient and intelligent players that every Mixed teams needs in order to be a champion.
Of all players, the MVP in my opinion was Jared Lehotsky (pictured). Playing deep in the zone defense and serving as the key cutter on offense, Lehotsky was dominate from start to finish. He seemed tireless when fatigue hit other players, and he really had a finals performance that all fans and peers noticed.
The final score was 14-8, and it was a happy surprise for the home team and the fans at Canada Inns Stadium. Chaos entered the finals after years of hibernation, and entered a division where any of the top 8-10 could realistically hope to make the finals. They survived two universe point games on Saturday to take the title.
ONYX, dissapointed with a 2nd place finish for the second year in a row, had to be dissapointed with their performance in the finals. Known throughout the country for their talent and their spirited play, they are a great team that failed to play their best in the very end. A lot of the credit for that can be given to the weather. One can only hope that the team is able to stay together and make another run at CUC 2010 in their home province in addtion to an appearance at World Clubs in the Czech Republic.
