Dec 21, 2018 | Darcy Helson | 648 views
Atom C Dunny's Source for Sports Aces Runners Up in St Thomas Tournament
The Dunny’s Source for Sports Atom C
Stratford Aces earned a silver medal to cap a fun weekend at the annual St Thomas
Panthers on the Prowl tournament.
Eight teams from two pools were competing
for gold in the Atom C Division. It was
an unusual format where the top two teams from each pool met in the final and
the second place teams played for bronze.
The Aces came out flat in their first game against the Ilderton Jets and found themselves down 1-0 early in the first period. It remained that way until the line of Piper Broughton, Cassie Richardson, and Paige Taylor put together a great shift. Their ability to forecheck down low in the offensive zone provided some much needed energy for girls. The rest of the team responded to their effort, Abby Iacobellis set up Katelynn McMahon, who was able to chip a backhand over the Ilderton goalie and tie the game at one. Before the end of the period, Iacobellis dug the puck loose from the Jets netminder and tapped it into the net for the go ahead goal. Neither team managed to score in the second period despite chances by both teams. In the third, Cassidy Nelemans and Iacobellis connected on a play to feed the puck to McMahon who then ripped a shot from the face-off circle past Jets goalie for her second goal of the game. Final score 3-1, Aces. The Aces offense was clicking in the early morning game against the Brantford Ice Cats. Stratford cruised to a 5-0 victory. Krista McMahan had two goals while Katelynn McMahon and Paige Taylor each scored on a breakaway and Peyton Boyles-Keating earned the shutout. The matinee on Saturday had the Aces facing the Kincardine Kinucks. Though both teams had won their first two games, Stratford needed to win in order to advance to the gold medal final. It was a typically stressful game to watch for the Atom C parents, evenly matched, plenty of great defense and strong goaltending by Boyles-Keating, but not much in the way of offense. Rachel Barber took matters into her own hands midway through the third period, as she rushed the full length of the ice to score the only goal of the game, and put the Aces into the final. The Aces played the Lambton Attack in the final Sunday afternoon. A questionable tripping call in the first two minutes of the game forced the Aces into a defensive mode from the get go. Unfortunately, the Aces were called for another penalty before the midway mark of the first period and the Attack scored on the ensuing powerplay. The Attack would add one goal in the second period and one in the third, to win 3-0. Brinlee Wall and Cassie Richardson both had great games in the final. After the loss Coach Darcy had this to say, “It was a great weekend of hockey. The girls played a very good game tonight and the coaches were very impressed with their effort and focus. If we keep playing like that we’ll be celebrating more often than not. The girls close out 2018 on the road this Saturday in Lucan.
Article by: Cyril Moss