Jan 17, 2017 | jbeishuizen | 4275 views
Lightning Bring Home the Gold from Nation’s Capital
The Saugeen Maitland Midget AA travelled to
Ottawa to compete in the Ottawa Winter Showcase and were rewarded with the Gold
Medal.
Winning against North-Humberland, Quebec City, Montreal/Laval, and with a humbling loss against Markham/Stouffville in the round robin, the Lightning were able to advance to the quarter finals against Peterborough.
MVP honours were awarded to Clare Horan, Jaymee Nolan, Janelle Smeltzer and Julia Beaven in the round-robin play. With the quarter-final game coming late Saturday night, the Lightning, with Morgan Heinbuck backstopping in net, were able hold on to a 1-0 win against the Peterborough Ice Kats, allowing them a chance to avenge their earlier loss to Markham/Stouffville in the Sunday morning Semi-Final. Nolan earned the MVP of the quarter final game.
The Semi-Final game saw both Markham and Saugeen-Maitland battle hard for all three periods. The result was at the end of regulation play, both teams were deadlocked at 2 goals apiece. After a five minute sudden death of 4 on 4 play, with end to end action and neither team able find the back of the net, it was time for the dreaded shoot-out. With recent memories of the Canadian Junior loss, the pressure was on the girls. With Madi Beishuizen scoring what could only be described as a gorgeous goal and earning the game’s MVP and Beaven stopping all three Markham shooters, the Bolts were victorious without needing their last shooter.
After a short rest, it was time for the Championship final which placed the Lightning against local rival Waterloo Ravens. The game was back and forth, with both teams showing rugged determination and an unwillingness to quit. Tied 3-3 with only a few minutes left in the game, Saugeen-Maitland were able to go ahead 4-3. Avery Wettlaufer’s hard work all weekend was finally rewarded with an empty net goal making the final score 5-3 with defence stalwart Laura White earning the MVP honours.