{"id":32907,"date":"2023-04-14T00:53:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T04:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=32907"},"modified":"2023-04-14T00:53:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T04:53:45","slug":"lunney-and-clarke-set-their-sights-on-a-provincial-championship-for-the-central-york-panthers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/lunney-and-clarke-set-their-sights-on-a-provincial-championship-for-the-central-york-panthers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lunney and Clarke set their sights on a Provincial Championship for the Central York Panthers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Central York Panthers were all business when they hit the ice at SARC last Wednesday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Head Coach Steve Dempsey and his coaching staff put their team through their paces to prepare for the Provincial Championships in mid-April. The Panthers organization hopes to build on their team\u2019s recent success at the OWHL U22 Elite playoffs (see story at theauroran.com) where they earned the top seed by going undefeated in the round robin before being edged in the semifinals by the Whitby Wolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Veteran Panthers Abby Lunney and Hannah Clarke have had successful seasons in both their Panther jerseys\u2014the team finished the regular season 28-10-5\u2014and their Team Ontario jerseys in which they captured bronze at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their hockey futures are similarly bright. Lunney has committed to play in September 2023 for Nipissing University in North Bay where former NHL player Darren Turcotte is the Head Coach. She felt a \u201cperfect connection\u201d with Coach Turcotte who \u201ccommits to his players for the full five years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clarke, a smooth-skating defenseman, is taking a gap year to \u201cget stronger and faster\u201d and will play for the Panthers in 2023-24. After her final season in Aurora, Clarke will head off to the US in September 2024 to play for the NCAA Division 1 Providence College Friars in Providence, Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lunney and Clarke took time after the Panthers\u2019 team lift\u2014\u201cthe final one of the season\u201d\u2014and before their important pre-championship practice at SARC to discuss their success at the OWHL playoffs, the 2022-23 regular season, the upcoming provincial championships, the Canada Winter Games, and the importance of the recent IIHF game in Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Auroran<\/em>:&nbsp; Describe your team\u2019s undefeated run in the round robin at the U22 Elite OWHL championships in early April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lunney: \u201cWe played our best hockey of the year. I thought we had a team-first mentality and we gave extra shifts to the hot scorers. It was a positive step forward for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clarke: \u201cOur energy was great. Everyone was enjoying the games and enjoying their teammates\u2019 success. It was good team-building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Auroran:<\/em> What was the highlight of the regular season?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lunney: \u201cBuilding connections with teammates, learning from adversity, and learning from experiences so we could become better hockey players.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clarke: \u201cThe bus trips and the bonding, especially the Karaoke going to Cornwall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Auroran<\/em>: What are the team\u2019s plans for the upcoming Provincial championships in Mississauga?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lunney: \u201cGetting Ws against the Top 12 OWHL Elite teams at the championships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clarke: \u201cWe\u2019re prepping and building on our good weekend at the OWHL championships. Losing to Whitby will give us extra fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Auroran<\/em>:&nbsp; What was your individual highlight from the Canada Winter Games?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lunney: \u201cRepping Ontario and playing with the top players, especially the ones we\u2019ve played against in the OWHL. Learning to play with them\u2014not against them\u2014was a good experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clarke: \u201cRepresenting Ontario and meeting all the skilled players from across Canada was great, but I really liked the atmosphere, too. I also liked representing the province in our game versus Newfoundland in the quarterfinals and celebrating a birthday with a W.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Auroran<\/em>:&nbsp; What was the significance of the IIHF game played at the ACC this weekend in terms of its impact on the Panthers program?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lunney: \u201cI think it will elevate and grow the game for the girls in the area. Seeing the growth of female hockey would be a good impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clarke: \u201cIt will inspire females to see such great players [from Sweden and Switzerland] playing on a local rink in their own backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we finish our pre-practice interview at SARC, a 10-year-old Panther yells \u201cHi Abby\u201d and Lunney asks her young admirer: \u201cHow was practice tonight?\u201d An easy-going dialogue ensues and it becomes abundantly clear through this random interaction in the SARC lobby that Abby and Hannah are not only admired as players to look up to, but they are also seen as mentors to the young Panthers that share the same ice surfaces and passion for the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NOTE: For more on the Panthers\u2019 season, visit bitly.ws\/CQX9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>By Brock Weir<br \/>Editor<br \/>Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F32907&#038;t=Lunney%20and%20Clarke%20set%20their%20sights%20on%20a%20Provincial%20Championship%20for%20the%20Central%20York%20Panthers&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F32907&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=Lunney%20and%20Clarke%20set%20their%20sights%20on%20a%20Provincial%20Championship%20for%20the%20Central%20York%20Panthers\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F32907&#038;text=Like%3F\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Lunney%20and%20Clarke%20set%20their%20sights%20on%20a%20Provincial%20Championship%20for%20the%20Central%20York%20Panthers&#038;body=Like%3F:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F32907\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/mail.png\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Central York Panthers were all business when they hit the ice at SARC last Wednesday night. Head Coach Steve Dempsey and his coaching staff put their team through their paces to prepare for the Provincial Championships in mid-April. The Panthers organization hopes to build on their team\u2019s recent success at the OWHL U22 Elite [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-sports","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8yL","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-16 17:44:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32907\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}