NotesNovices Coming Together as a Team in Stratford Festival Cup Challenge
In the words of Neil Diamond “Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing. But then I know it’s growing
strong” represents the development of the Perth Auto Dismantlers Novice B
Aces as a team. From the first practices, to where we are now has been an
incredible journey toward the creation of a team not individual players.
This past weekend, the Novice girls represented Stratford in
the Stratford Festival Cup Challenge. The weekend started with two games on
Friday. This being the first tournament, the girls were a bit nervous playing Brampton
and relied on second year players to show them how to get things going. Jayda
Houben opened the scoring on a beautiful tip on a shot from the point. Unfortunately,
the Canadettes quickly evened the score only to have Emersyn Miller streak in
and score an unassisted goal. The third period had Teresa Schuster provide some
insurance on a breakaway goal allowing the Aces to take the first game 3-1 over
Brampton.
The second game on Friday found the Aces up against a league
rival Woolwich Wild. Miller decided that this was her game and ended up with
five goals in the victory. Assisting on her goals were Emma Van Nes, Linley
Porter, Keira Blain and Houben. Niamh Appel and Krista McMahon played a very
strong defensive game keeping the Wild offense struggling to maintain any sort
of momentum.
Saturday had the Aces up against Orangeville in a game for
first place. Both teams came out strong hoping for a win. The Novice Aces
struck first with Miller finding the back of the net twice with assists coming
from Van Nes and Blain. Chloe Schultz and Eve Binns showed great hockey smarts
providing coverage when the defense joined the play throughout the game. The
game showcased two evenly matched teams that resulted in a tie.
Sunday morning was not kind to the Perth Auto Dismantlers
losing the semi-final match 1-0 to a determined Woolwich Wild. Goaltending by
Chloe Rison and strong defensive play by Claire Donnelly is what kept the game
close as the Wild came out with a chip on their shoulders and outperformed the
Aces. Although the girls were hoping to get a win and make it to the finals
they left the Stratford tournament holding their heads high with many
accomplishments throughout the weekend. The biggest of these being able to say
the girls had fun and definitely came away from the tournament having learned
what it is to be a team. Moving forward we will use a quote from Henry Ford who
said “Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working
together is success.”
A special thank you to all the volunteers who helped to make
the Festival Challenge a memorable weekend for the Novice Team.