The Saugeen Maitland Midget AA
Lightning came up a goal short of the gold medal at the 2 Nations College Prep
tournament this past weekend in Brampton, losing 2-1 to the Sudbury Wolves in
the final. The tournament was attended by 36 of the top-ranked Canadian and US
Midget aged girls’ teams as well as over 100 University
scouts.
Friday morning the Lightning opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over the Alaska Icebreakers. Scoring for the Bolts were Lexi Smith with 2 and Jocelyn Ballantyne with a single. Taylor MacDonald, Maddie Duncan, Hannah Herman, Cassidy Mason, Smith and Ballantyne added helpers. In the second game Friday, the Lightning downed the Calgary Fire 2-1. Mel Nolan and Neve Van Pelt each potted one with assists going to Avery Reeves (2) and Katie Heath.
Saturday afternoon the Bolts found their scoring touch against the West Chester Quakers, a team from near Philadelphia, downing them 7-0. Scoring for Saugeen Maitland were Madison Davey, Herman, Mason (2), Reeves, Nolan and Duncan with assists going to Kelsey Dixon (2), Erin Near, Natalie Nixon, Reeves (3), Heath (2), Davey (2) and Van Pelt (2). Kaitlyn Chagnon stopped all opposition shots earned the shut-out in net for the Bolts. The Lightning started their evening game against the Aurora Panthers knowing they needed to post a high score for and a low score against. Only 4 of the 36 teams would advance to the medal round on Sunday and it came down to the plus/minus ratio to decide what teams advanced. The Bolts came storming out and barely gave the Panthers a sniff. Smith scored 2 goals while Van Pelt, Nolan and Reeves each added singles. Assists went to Brooke Schroeder, Dixon, Herman, Mason, Nolan and Ballantyne. Rebecca Ropp was solid in net to earn the shut-out in the 5-0 win.
The shut-out Saturday night was enough to put the Lightning into the semi-final game early Sunday against the Guelph Gryphons, the only team to have defeated the Bolts to this point in the season. In a closely matched game, the Lightning came out on top of a 2-1 score. Dixon and Smith scored for the Bolts with helpers awarded to Nolan, Mason and Davey. The win propelled the Lightning into the tournament final Sunday afternoon against the Sudbury Wolves, currently ranked #9 in Canada for Midget girls’ teams. The Bolts scored the opener in the first period, with Lexi Smith finding the back of the net with assists from Duncan and MacDonald. However the Wolves tied it at ones in the second. With time winding down in the 3rd period, a Sudbury shot deflected of a couple of legs and both posts and into the net, handing the disappointed Lightning the 2-1 loss.
The Saugeen Maitland Lightning would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters for their game against Team China on November 26th. By all accounts, the game was entertaining with close to a capacity crowd of 1000 in attendance at the Wingham Westcast Community Centre. There was great support from many of mid-Western Ontario communities, both for the Saugeen Maitland Lightning organization and for girls hockey in general. Thanks to all.