(January 18, 2022 Aurora, Ontario) – The Central York Panthers are thrilled to announce that our very own 2022-23 Jr Panther Abby Lunney has just been crowned a World Champion!! For a second straight year, Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team has won the gold medal at the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship, shutting out Sweden 10-0 on Sunday in Östersund, Sweden.
Abby has captured the hearts of our Panther community by showing us that dreams do come true when you put everything you have into it. Abby showed amazing resilience through a long selection process to even become a member of Team Canada. But once Abby made it, she really took flight and pushed her game to another level. Playing great at both ends of the ice and taking on a critical role with Team Canada was inevitable. Abby was not only able to score at critical moments or set up game winning goals from the summer series versus the United States but right into the World Championships. Abby also takes immense pride in the defensive side of the game, which is a great example of her team first mentality. Hockey Canada recognized that and allowed Abby to play a prominent role with the penalty kill unit.
As a high performance player you are geared towards having your best performance on the last day of the competition. Abby delivered on that goal by having a great all around game and using her tremendous speed to put Sweden under intense pressure all over the ice. Her championship effort was rewarded as she scored and assisted on another goal to help Team Canada to an unbelievable 10-0 defeat of Team Sweden in the Gold Medal game.
Never one to focus on herself or her own accomplishments, Abby has returned back from the World Championships and is already back on the ice with her Central York Jr Panther teammates cheering them on in every drill. Abby defines what it means to be a Panther and is inspiring countless young Panthers to be the best they can be both on the ice and within our communities. She is everything that you want in a player and a community member. Abby loves being a Panther and we are so lucky to have such an incredible person representing us on a worldwide stage. We are so proud of you Abby!!