NotesThe Kinsmen Club of Stratford Intermediate Aces were able to steal 2 points vs. their Stratford rivals Sirkel foods in KW Local League action Monday night at the Rotary Complex.
The Kinsmen ladies opened the scoring in the first minute of play as Kirsten Matthews fed a cross-ice pass to Sarah Beluzic who fired the puck past Sirkel goaltender Brittany Johnston.
The Kinsmen Aces pushed hard for the remainder of the frame, but were thwarted by Johnston and her defence, and as the period ended, the score remained 1-0. The second period was scoreless, but as the puck dropped for the start of the third, it was clear that the Sirkel squad was not ready to quit. After a number of chances at both ends, the Kinsmen took a two goal lead, as Mary McDonnell lifted a rebound past a sprawling Johnston. Sirkel Foods pushed back, and less than a minute later Rachel Luckhardt scored on goalkeeper Alexa Groenestege to cut the Kinsmen's lead to a single goal. From here on it was all Sirkel Foods as Groenestege and her teammates scrambled to hold the lead. With Johnston on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, the Sirkel forwards buzzed the net,
firing shot after shot at Groenestege, while the entire Kinsmen team collapsed in front of their net, hacking at the puck in a desperate effort to hang on, and as the final buzzer sounded, the score remained 2-1 for the Kinsmen squad.
The win gives the Kinsmen Aces a three point lead on their Stratford rivals, putting them in the fourth and final playoff spot, with only three games left in the second half of their season.