Recently the nation’s capital was a challenge for the Saugeen Maitland Lightning
Bantam A team as they struggled to put their best foot forward, ending
their pursuit of the podium at the 33rd Annual Competitive Tourney
in Kanata from November 13th to 15th in the semi-finals losing to the Nepean
Wildcats 3 to 1.
As fate would have it, the Lightning’s ending would also be their beginning, as they opened the tournament against Nepean. A slow start put the SML team on a steep, up-hill slope early that they would not climb, as they failed to score until the third period when Mattie Shipp finally bulged the twine with a shot from the point in an unassisted effort. The Wildcats scored in each of the first two periods, before taking advantage of a string of Lightning penalties to score two more times in the third for a 4 to 1 win.
Game two saw a much better effort by the SML Bantam A ladies, as they faced off against the Kanata Rangers. The hard fought affair remained score-less until the third period when the Rangers scored the only goal of the game, handing the Lightning a heart-breaking 1 to 0 loss.
The Lightning’s steady improvement continued into game three as they prepared to tackle the Bantam A Stars from Gloucester Cumberland. After a score-less first period, the lightning’s attack hit its’ stride, opening the scoring early in the second period. Keltie Talbot converted a play started by Avery Wettlaufer, with honourable mentions going to Rylynn Sinclair, Landis King and Allison Stevenson.
Five minutes later the Stars answered back, when they scored a power play goal knotting the score at 1 to 1. With under two minutes to go in the period, the Lightning regained the lead when Taylor McLellan teamed up with Avery Wettlaufer for a 2 to 1 advantage, with honourable mentions going to Myea Fleet, Cassidy Elvidge and Rylynn Sinclair.
SML went up 3 to 1 early in the third period, as Avery Wettlaufer beat home a rebound from a shot by Natalie Fischer, with help from Landis King, Rylynn Sinclair and Taylor McLellan. Facing a total of 18 shots from a determined Stars offence, SML goalie Marissa Cottingham was near perfect as she defended the SML goal. The Lightning ladies extinguished any remaining hope the Stars may have had in the final minute of the game, with the Stars on the power play and their goalie pulled in favour of two extra attackers, when Avery Wettlaufer potted her second of the game into the empty cage, with help from Cassidy Elvidge, Allison Stevenson and Mercedes Potter recording the score as 4 to 1 for SML.
The Nepean rematch in the semi-final was a heated struggle as both teams played hard. Following a score-less opening period, the Wildcats pounced first for a 1 to 0 lead. Just under four minutes later, Myea Fleet would pull SML even with help from Keltie Talbot and Allison Stevenson, honorable mentions going to Cassidy Elvidge and Mattie Shipp. Despite continued and determined effort, the lightning would fail to score again. The Wildcats would add one more in the second frame, and one in the third to earn a 3 to 1 victory and end the tournament early for the Lightning.
Submitted by R. E. Porter (John Elvidge)