The Kincardine District Secondary School girls hockey team will have some company at Tuesday's CWOSSA hockey championships.

Their male counterparts, originally thought to be eliminated after losing a semi-final game to West Hill, will also play in the tournament. But since West Hill competes at the AAA level, the Knights earned a second chance to qualify as the BAA's second representative at the AA CWOSSA tourney.

And yesterday, KDSS seized the opportunity. Kincardine posted a 4-0 win over Georgian Bay Secondary School, who had lost to Sacred Heart in the other BAA semi-final game.

With several key veterans out of the line-up, the youngsters stepped up to clinch a CWOSSA berth. Freshman Keegan McLelland played one of his best games of the season, and opened the scoring just three minutes into this contest. His unassisted tally would stand up as the game winner. Fellow freshman Ryker Killins notched a natural hat trick to complete the scoring. He had a pair of goals in the second, and put this game out of reach when he converted a Karsen Ellis pass in the third.

Easton Battler posted his second shutout in as many days, while Greg Scott assisted on two of Killins' goals. KDSS was shorthanded in this game, and played with just three defencemen.

So now, the Knights enter CWOSSA as the sixth and final seed. They will open the tournament Tuesday morning at the West End Community Centre in Guelph against either Dehi Secondary School or the top-seeds from Bishop Macdonnell. Action will begin at either 9:30 a.m. or 10 a.m., with the finals set for Wednesday. The other division consists of Sacred Heart, Norwell and Vallley Heights of Langton.

The boys will join the KDSS girls, who are the tournament’s top seed. The girls team dropped a close game to West Hill in the BAA finals, and will play in a division identical to the boys. The other girls division consists of Our Lady Of Lourdes, Waterford and Grey Highlands. The girls have a schedule that coincides with the KDSS boys.

The Independent will be at next week's CWOSSA tournament, so be sure to pick up next week's print edition and follow along online at this site.