NotesIn game 2 of their series against the Lambton Attack HL, the Novice C Aces, fresh off a game one 5-0 win, started a bit slow. The Attack got on the board first after a goal mouth scramble midway through the first. Milana Verellen started ramping up the pressure with some great rushes but the Aces finished the period down by 1. Early in the second Verellen continued her strong play with a feed to Olivia Willemsen for a near miss. Avree Marshall really stood out, playing a strong physical game to create space and get the puck to her linemates. Mira Broughton, Reese Campbell and Verellen continually had great rushes and partial breakaways but the Lambton goalie stood tall. After some strong work by Emry Macintosh on the half wall getting the puck to Julia Glitz who got a shot on net, Campbell was there to bang home the rebound to tie the game at one. Edie Murray skated hard all game, keeping pucks in at the blue line and helping get the puck to the Aces streaking forwards. While the aces really carried a lot of the play, Lilly Harrigan had to make several outstanding saves throughout the game to keep it tied. Leighton Whetstone played the role of offensive defenseman, feeding Mira off the boards for a breakaway who was stopped but almost knocked in the rebound on a second try. Campbell broke in alone late in the third, forcing the Attack to take a penalty to prevent her shot, putting the Aces on the Powerplay with 3 minutes to go in the game, but they couldn't find the twine. After Jillian Rossi cleared the puck off the boards to Campbell, who got another amazing chance with her speed and forced the Attack goalie to make a great save with one minute left. Lilly, cool under pressure, again had to hold the fort on a breakaway to keep the game tied with less than a minute left. The game ended in a tie, giving the Aces a 3-1 lead in the series.
In the final game of the series at home, the Aces needed a win or tie to clinch the title. The Aces started the game strong with hustle at both ends of the rink. Clara Longston had two strong passes to the front of the net and a hard shot that nearly resulted in their first goal. Avree Marshall and Emry MacIntosh showed strong physical play and Julia Glitz hustled hard to get back to defend and clear the puck from the Aces zone. Half way through the first, Olivia Willemsen had a great chance to get the Aces on the scoreboard but just couldn't get her stick on the fumbling puck. Milana Verellen had several strong rushes up the ice and nearly scored on two separate occasions but the Lambton team hustled to get shut her down. In the second period, Jillian Rossi made strong defensive plays and successfully prevented a Lambton rush by swiping the puck away from the Lambton skater. Reese Campbell put the Aces on the board with a strong shot to the edge of the net that the goalie just couldn't get to. Lucy McFarlane had two good scoring chances as she dug hard for the puck in front of the net. Lambton tied the game at the end of the period but Verellen answered back with a top shelf shot off a breakaway to put the Aces up by 1. Leighton Whetstone, Ava Langis, Brooke Stairs, Madeleine Nickel and Edie Murray were strong on defence as they hustled to get back, held strong at the blue line and cleared the puck from the Aces zone. The Attack kept pushing and scored mid-way through the third to tie it up again. Mira Broughton secured the win as she was perfectly positioned for her own rebound.
Every single girl played their heart out in this game and earned themselves the win! The coaches and parents could not be more proud of these girls for their tremendous improvement throughout this season. A huge thank you to the coaching and support staff for their dedication and guidance and a final thank you to Sit Pretty Custom Grooming for their sponsorship support!