Novice Aces Win Silver at Home Tournament, News, Perth Auto Dismantlers Novice B, 2016-2017 (Stratford Aces Girls Hockey)

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Nov 22, 2016 | PSchuster | 534 views
Novice Aces Win Silver at Home Tournament
In a weekend dedicated to women’s hockey in Stratford, The Stratford Perth Auto Dismantlers Novice B Aces showed they are a force to recon with placing second at the 2016 Aces Festival Cup Challenge Tournament. 

The journey to the finals started Friday morning with a tough 3-1 loss to the Woolwich Wild. Scoring in the loss was Abby Iacobellis on assists form Tessa Burdett and Anne Nickel. Even in the loss, the coaches were quoted as seeing progress in the girls play as a team.

The second game found the girls against the South Huron Sabres. The two teams provided non-stop excitement from the first puck drop. The Sabres opened the scoring in the first period with Tessa Burdett scoring shortly after with her first of three goals to equalize the score on an assist from Emersyn Miller. Each team traded goals throughout the game with Anne Nickel scoring the go ahead goal on a pass by Paige Campbell. Emma Van Nes played a solid game on defense putting a wall up at the offensive blue line and making some great passes. Goaltending by Marta Rintoul allowed the Aces the opportunity for the win as she turned away several tough shots at the end of the game.

With one win and one loss under their belts, the Novice Aces took on Saturday with grit and determination and a goal of making the Sunday finals. Their first roadblock came in the way of the Brampton Canadettes. The girls came out hungry scoring the first on a great shot by Ella Taylor and assists by Lila Mortimer and Cassandra Richardson. The next two goals were scored by Tessa Burdett with the first being unassisted and the last being assisted by Taylor which led the way to a 3-2 victory. Solid goaltending by Sloan Cameron allowed the aces to stay in this game from beginning to end.

The second game on Saturday found the girls in a must win game against the Orangeville Tigers. With tenacity and will on their side, the girls came away with another 3-2 victory ensuring entrance to the finals on Sunday afternoon against the Woolwich Wild. Stratford opened the scoring on an unassisted goal by Emersyn Miller. The Tigers struck for the next two goals putting the Aces down by a goal going into the third period. With a chance at the finals on the line, Racheal Barber won a battle in the offensive end with the puck eventually ending up on Abby Iacobellis’s stick where she found the back of the net to start the third period. With six minutes left, Miller scored her second of the game to take the lead with assists from Paige Campbell and Eve Binns and the Novice girls never looked back.

Maybe a little over excited about playing for gold on a snowy Sunday in Stratford, the girls allowed Woolwich to open the scoring allowing them a three goal lead in the first period. Cue the comeback. Strong plays from Bronwyn Hawkins and Paige Taylor, Tessa Burdett was able to score in the second period to bring the Aces within two goals. The third was even more intense with incredible defensive plays by Teresa Schuster and Peyton Barclay each keeping the Wild offensive rush from penetrating their zone. With just over 2 minutes left, Burdett scored her second of the game. With time winding down, the Novice girls gave an all out assault to the finish but could not solve the Wild goaltender. After the game, a very proud coaching staff congratulated each girl on a heroic second place finish. The Novice girls performed exceptionally well showing a never give up mentality throughout the entire weekend.
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