Gary Griffith on target, but QPCC fall to Police in Ventures hockey

FORMER police commissioner Gary Griffith and Queen's Park Cricket Club felt the full brunt of the law as they went under 6-4 in the 20th edition of the Ventures Invitational Indoor Hockey Tournament, which flicked off at the Woodbrook Youth Facility on January 8.

Competing in the veterans division, defending champs QPCC had a bleak start to their title defence as they were dealt back-to-back losses. QPCC lost to Police in their first game, before being edged 1-0 by Fatima in their second match on January 9.

Ryan Cowie led QPCC with a double while Griffith and Nicholas Camacho scored one each, but the lawmen had the last say, led by braces from Wayne Legerton and Nicholas Wren, and one apiece from Gerard Ferguson and Antonio Quashie.

Defence Force and Magnolia got off to terrific starts in defence of their respective men's and women's titles.

In pool A in the men's category, Defence Force showed off their scoring prowess from their very first match, romping to a big 7-0 victory over UWI Lions on January 8, before strolling to a 6-1 win over Fatima Hockey Club the next day.

Marcus James was in fine form for Defence Force in their opening matches, registering a hat-trick to tame UWI Lions, before grabbing a brace in the rout of Fatima. Javon Woodward, Ghardel Elcock and Tariq Singh also got on the scoresheet in Defence Force's win over Fatima.

In the women's category, Magnolia sounded a strong warning to the rest of the competition when they hammered hosts Ventures Hockey Club by a 10-1 margin in their pool A meeting on January 8.

Savannah De Freitas led Magnolia's charge with a hat-trick, with Shaniah De Freitas and Kaitlyn Olton scoring two goals apiece.

In pool B in the men's category, Police mirrored Defence Force's brilliant start to the tourney with two victories of their own – defeating Paragon and Barbados' UWI Blackbirds respectively.

On January 8, Police made light of Paragon when they got a 5-0 win, with Akim Toussaint scoring a hat-trick and Fernando Beatrice and Justin Beharry scoring a goal apiece. Police were made to work harder for their victory against the Blackbirds on January 9, with Toussaint and veteran player Legerton finding the scoresheet to earn a comeback result after the opposition got a third-minute opener from Shomari Inniss.

Police had mixed results in the women's category, as their "B" outfit were hammered 5-0 by Paragon in their opening game, before earning a whopping 8-0 win over UWI Lions in their second encounter. In their riot against UWI Lions, Brittney Hingh displayed her dominance with a five-goal performance, to go along with a brace from Teniel Garcia.

Matches continued after press time on January 10, with the invitational tourney set to conclude on January 12.