On the weekend of Jan 3-4, the Omaha Lady Jr. Lancer 19U squad travelled to Aberdeen, SD, where they took 1st place in the 1st Annual Cougar Classic. In addition to Nebraska, the eight-team field was also represented by teams from South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.

The LJL’s hopped out of their cars after the 6 hour drive and kicked off the tournament Friday night with a tilt against the hometown host Aberdeen Cougars who entered the tourney with perfect 7-0 record. After falling behind on an early goal by Aberdeen, the Lancers fought back to take a 2-1 lead early in the 3rdperiod. Aberdeen, however, tied it up with just under 8 minutes left and the fast, hard-played game, which local fans described in the newspaper the next day as having a “championship feel” to it, ended in a 2-2 tie.

Things didn’t get any easier Saturday morning as the Brookings, SD, Rangers and THEIR perfect 10-0 record awaited the girls. The Lancers were not intimidated, however. Quite the opposite as they blew to an early lead and cruised past the shocked Rangers for a surprising 8-1 victory.

A Saturday evening 10-3 win against an overmatched Watertown, SD, squad was followed Sunday morning by a 5-0 win over the Sioux Falls, SD, Flyers in which the ladies outshot their opponents by a margin of 64-16. With a 3-0-1 record, they had put themselves in position to have a chance at the title, but still needed some help from Brookings, as they would face Richland, MO, and try to put a dent in their perfect 3-0 record.

The Rangers did their part winning a 3-2 thriller, and in doing so, caused screams and high fives in various vehicles zipping back to Omaha down I-29. Their victory made Omaha Lady Jr. Lancers the champions of the Cougar Classic!

The girls will be in action again in Omaha at Moylan Ice Plexon Jan 24-25 where they will try to clinch the Western Division championship of the Heartland League.