Competitive contests mark opening night of National Indoor Hockey Championships

The Kellogg’s National Indoor Hockey Championships got off to an exciting start on Wednesday even-ing at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), with Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Elite producing the most emphatic performance of the opening night, while Saints Hockey Club, Antonio’s Hikers and GCC Outlaws also secured victories in their respective divisions.

GCC Elite made a strong statement in the Open Women’s division, defeating Hikers 9-4 in a high-scoring encounter. The Elite side established a 2-1 lead in the first quarter before extending their ad-vantage to 6-2 at half-time. They maintained their attacking momentum in the third quarter, taking an 8-4 lead before adding another goal in the final period to complete a convincing victory.
Abosaide Cadogan was among the standout performers, scoring three times, while Gabriella Xavier and Makeda Harding also contributed to the winning effort. Hikers found the back of the net four times but were unable to keep pace with GCC Elite’s attack.
Saints also enjoyed a winning start in the Open Women’s division, edging Old Fort Hockey Club (OFHC) Rave 3-2 in a closely contested encounter. OFHC Rave took an early lead through Keitanna Percival in the third minute, but Saints responded through Makayla Poole in the 11th minute.
Mariah Seegobin converted a penalty corner in the 15th minute to put Saints ahead before Kaiyra Scott extended their advantage in the 27th minute. OFHC Rave pulled one back through Carolyn Deane in the 40th minute, but Saints held on for the victory.
In the Open Men’s division, GCC Outlaws came from behind to defeat Hikers Cadets 2-1. After a goal-less first half, Outlaws scored through Kristian Viapree in the 27th minute and Eli Atwell in the 33rd. Hikers Cadets responded a minute later through Michael Payne, but Outlaws preserved their ad-vantage to secure the points.
Hikers also started their Open 40 campaign on a winning note, overcoming OFHC Expendables 2-1. Sherywn Ceasar gave OFHC Expendables the lead in the sixth minute, but Hikers fought back through Robert France in the 21st minute before Brian Asregado converted a penalty corner three minutes later to complete the comeback.
The opening results provided an encouraging start to the championships, with competitive encounters across the men’s, women’s and veterans’ categories as teams began their campaigns for national honours.