Since the NOSSA Girls Hockey Championships were first launched in 2004, the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes have captured either A/AA or AAA honours in 12 of the past 15 years.
On many of those occasions, it was no contest, the local juggernaut simply far too talented a squad for opponents to offer a serious challenge.
These past two days at the McClelland Arena, on the other hand, have been anything but easy.
After dropping a 2-0 decision to the Lo-Ellen Park Knights in their opening game, the Alouettes needed a win Tuesday morning against the Lockerby Vikings simply to advance to the finals. A goal by Daphne Vigna with just under five minutes to play snapped a 2-2 tie and lifted CND to a rematch with Lo-Ellen.
The gold medal encounter proved to be equally as closely contested, with Lauren Fearn (Knights) and Madisyn Papineau (Alouettes) trading goals in the opening 39 minutes of play.
Tied at 1-1 as the buzzer sounded, it was off to overtime, where Elise Bélanger settled matters just over six minutes in, vaulting Notre-Dame past Lo-Ellen 2-1.
In the morning affair, Danika Godin and Chloé Leduc joined Vigna on the scoresheet for the Als, while Montanna Thompson and Jordan Heffern countered for Lockerby.
And despite posting a 2-0 record on Monday, the Knights needed a win over the St. Joseph Scollard Hall Bears simply to ensure their berth in the final. Thankfully, the Knights broke open a 1-1 game in the third, scoring three times and doubling their North Bay opponents 4-2.
Katie Chomiak enjoyed a two-goal performance for the winners, with Emma Dyer and Hanna Smith adding one goal each, while Malory Dominico and Michaela Presseault replied in a losing cause for the Bears.
Both sets of OFSAA championships are slated for March 21st to 23rd, with the A/AA grouping heading off to Timmins, while Cambridge plays host to the AAA contingent.