The Turner Plumbing and Heating Stratford Aces Returned Home With A Silver Medal and many Memorable Moments To Last A Lifetime
As Coach Herb Brooks stated “Great moments are born from great opportunities.” This quote describes the Turner Plumbing Peewee BB Aces weekend in Ancaster.
The Stratford Aces were pumped and ready to show their strength at the annual Ancaster Fall Shootout Tournament. In the first game the Aces met up with the Niagara Falls Rapids. The Aces dominated the game, showing Niagara they were not a force to be reckoned with. Kenleigh Soper scored the first goal of the tournament, as she stood ready to take the rebound from Rylee Nethercott’s shot on net. Ella Boersma was a powerhouse on defense, holding the line and protecting the Ace’s zone. Boersma received the Player of the Game Award for the game.
The Next Game of the Tournament was truly intense! The Aces fans were on the edge of their seats all game long. Stratford met up with the Oakville Hornets. The Aces played aggressive and didn’t back down though the odds seemed to be stacked against them. Oakville opened up the scoring, after Stratford seemed to be getting penalized for blinking. This couldn’t break Stratford’s spirit! In the last minute of play Stratford’s goalie Ella Gracey raced to the bench to put on the extra attacker. The six attackers pressed the Hornets into their zone! With 10.6
seconds remaining on the clock, Olivia Van Straaten took the shot from the point that shattered the Hornets hopes for the win to tie up the game! Now the Ace’s faced the dreaded shootout. The Ace’s were confident with their strong goal tending by Gracey, who stoned 3 of the Hornets shooters! Victoria Campbell patiently watched from the bench the moves of the Hornets goalie, who had stopped the first two shots. Campbell took to the ice with her target in sight. The fans were on the edge of their seats as Campbell skated towards the net. Campbell with some quick moves deked the goalie and shot it in! The Stratford players and fans jumped to their feet in celebration. Campbell was awarded player of the game in the 2-1 win!
Saturday morning the girls had a tough start. The game against North Halton fell a little flat, and the Twisters took full advantage of it. North Halton was able to score 2 goals in the first period to get the game rolling. Stratford knew they couldn’t allow anymore on the board, and battled to protect their net. Stratford stopped the Twisters from scoring in the second and third period in the 2-0 loss. Alia Poirier received the player of the game as she showed her strength and determination as she battled for the puck.
The girls didn’t hang their heads, they used the last game to learn from and prepare for the upcoming semifinals on Sunday morning. Lots of strategies were discussed, and it was time to regroup. On Sunday morning the girls arrived ready to go. They knew their upcoming opponents the Stoney Creek Sabres would be hard to beat given their stats for the weekend. Coach Katie Berg came prepared with a plan to get the girls pumped up, by providing some new warm up activities. Coaches Sopes, Wex, and J.T. strategized for the upcoming game, while Trainer Sophie Fadelle made sure the girls were set and ready to go. The fans filled the bleachers hyped up and ready to cheer. The game was a back and forth battle, which neither team showed weakness. The first and second periods remained scoreless. The Aces knew they needed to push a little harder. In the middle of the third, Stratford snuck one past the Stoney Creek goalie. Alia Poirier scored the goal, assisted by her linemates McKenzie Parsons
and Addisyn Reinecker. Player of the game was awarded to Ella Gracey who not only had an outstanding game, but also an amazing tournament.
On to the Finals! Stratford had the tough job of meeting up with the hometown heroes the Ancaster Avalanche. Stratford prepped for the game, with a regroup at the hotel and lunch. The Aces knew they had to bring their best game. The Aces were dedicated to each other, playing with their whole heart. They battled through the first, second, and third as the game remained scoreless. The first overtime period saw five minutes of four on four action to which the game still remained scoreless. Another five minutes was added to the clock and it became
a three on three game. The Aces battled hard, but Ancaster was awarded with a goal. The Aces took silver with heavy hearts, though no one could hang their heads because they played as a gold medal team. Skylar Fadelle was given player of the game for never backing down.
The Peewee BB had a very successful tournament. No one can beat the memories the girls made throughout the weekend. Their hard work shone through. Olivia Rau, Aveleen Flood and Morgan Yantzi created many opportunities for their lines in the offensive zone, while Kyleigh Denstedt, Charlee Gethke and Sydney Taylor defended and battled in the defensive zone. This truly is an exceptional group of girls, who represented Stratford well!