Our girls and families travelled to Cambridge this past weekend to play in the
26th Annual New Years' Challenge Cup. Overall, it was a great weekend with excellent efforts on the ice by the girls and coaches and even more fun and memories made off the ice as a larger hockey family. We celebrated a milestone birthday, upheld our team meal traditions and, some even came away sporting new hairdos (er... colours)!
Finishing first in our pool with 3 wins and a tie, the girls earned the 'later' start for Sunday morning Semi-Finals. A 3-1 loss to Chatham in semis sent them to the Bronze medal game mid-day. There, the girls were much more focused and controlled the game to a 3-0 win over Lindsay.
In game play, the stories go like this...
Game 1 - a solid start with a victory over Burlington. The girls ended the first period tied 1-1, but stayed strong and scored two more in the 2nd and 3rd for the commanding 5-1 win (that's goals scored and assisted by seven different players)!
Game 2 - met up with North Halton for the fourth time this season (a regular season opponent). Our players went to the net early for three 1st period goals and one more in the 2nd and 3rd for a 5-0 win. Posting our first shutout of the weekend as well!
Game 3 - with early morning cobwebs in full force, the girls struggled a bit and came out with a 0-0 tie against Lindsay. Both teams pressured to get the puck to the net, but found themselves practicing the PK or PP more often than is ideal - at least it went both ways! That's shutout number two for those who are counting ;)
Game 4 - back in fully rested and alert form, the girls battled Woolwich (another league opponent) and came out with a 1-0 victory. A tightly played game and the girls posted shutout number three! And, good to his word, Coach McInnes sat for his hair colouring that evening... SML blue for him!
Semi Finals - facing a strong and fast Chatham team
really early in the morning, both teams came out strong and finished the 1st tied 0-0. After a goal against in the 2nd and 3rd, we rallied and got one back but, Chatham sealed their 3-1 win with another late in the 3rd.
Bronze Medal game - bouncing back from the morning game, our girls refocused and stayed disciplined for a 3-0 win over Lindsay. Sharp passing and crashing the net rewarded the girls with one in the 1st and another in the 3rd. Finally, during and a push from Lindsay with their net empty we were able to get a 70 footer to finish the game with our fourth shutout of the tournament!
Overall, a great team effort - strong efforts at the net, solid defensive play and, great goaltending... nicely done ladies! Now, let's finish the season strong and carry momentum into playdowns!!
