The Taylor Fluid Systems Atom B Aces finished in the top 4
out of 7 this past weekend in the annual Stratford Festival Cup Challenge. They
skated away with a total of 2 wins, 2 ties and one loss in semi-finals. An
impressive record that included two shutouts, 7 goals for, 6 against, 12 total penalty
minutes and 2 ejected coaches!
Game 1 pitted Stratford against the Brampton Canadettes on November 17th. With a short bench the girls saw lots of extra ice time and pushing themselves to achieve personal bests. Grace Laverty scored her first goal of the season assisted by Paige Campbell and also earned an assist on goal #2 that was scored by Abby Iacobellis. Ava Neumeister shut out the Canadettes to start off the tournament weekend on the right foot.
Friday afternoon, the Aces played against the Ancaster Avalanche. Our opponents lived up to their name and fell on us from the first puck drop. Sloan Cameron kept us in the game with a very strong performance, especially in the first period allowing the Aces to find their groove. The Aces took the lead first in the second period, with a shot from Lila Mortimer assisted by Anne Nickel and Stephanie Tsaltas. The Aces pulled ahead with another goal in the third scored by Katelynn McMahon assisted by Lila Mortimer. The Avalanche answered back with their first goal in the next play. The rest of the period was spent in defensive mode, but unfortunately the Avalanche tied it with 56 seconds left of play with a 6th man present to force the puck home.
Day 2 and Game 3 started very early on Saturday. A 7am puck drop usually spells uncertainty for the Atom B Aces but today they broke the mold. This game against the Walkerton Capitals ended in a 1-1 tie. The first period saw no goals scored but a rough a tumble Walkerton team gained 2 penalties for body checking and tripping. The Aces scored their first goal in the third when Devan Taylor found the hole and tied up the game assisted by Lila Mortimer and Paige Campbell.
Saturday afternoons game saw the Taylor Fluid Systems Aces all fired up. Fresh off a team breakfast, the girls were only hungry for dessert and it was delivered on a silver platter! Sloan Cameron added her own shut out to the weekend and Deirdre Parsons attempt at a hat trick was almost achieved. She scored in period 1 and 2, unassisted, but was foiled in the third. With this win the Aces firmly held 2nd place going into the Semi-Finals on Sunday morning.
Our final game on Saturday had the Aces against the Ancaster Avalanche again. The Aces battled hard keeping the game scoreless in the first. The Avalanche added a point to the board midway through the second period and a second goal midway through the third. The battle rage fully gripped the Aces as they continued to fight until the end. Leading the way and ultimately getting ejected for their “gusto”, Coaches Greg and Andrew debated finer points of ice etiquette with the referee, to which the on ice official responded with a firmly pointed finger to the dressing room. The commitment of our girls and coaching staff throughout the weekend definitely makes this parent proud to be part of the Taylor Fluid Systems Atom B Aces!
Congratulations to the following MVP recipients, Grace Laverty, Ella Taylor, Ava Neumeister, Sloan Cameron and Deirdre Parsons for their hard work and achievement in this tournament.