Over the
weekend, the Taylor Fluid Systems Pewee C Stratford Aces participated in the
annual Walter Gretzky tournament in Brantford.
The Aces opened the tournament on Friday with a dominant performance against the Kent County Fillies at the Lion’s Park Arena. Taylor Neeb, Laura Sheldon, Rowan Aitken (2) and Avery Faulhafer each contributed to the five goal advantage; however it was a total team effort that gave the Aces their first win of the tournament.
Later that afternoon the Aces travelled to the Brant Sports Complex in Paris for a game two match up against the Carleton Place Cyclones. Despite getting on the board first with a goal by Rowan Aitken, the Aces stumbled throughout the game. The Cyclones stayed one stride ahead of the Aces for most of the contest and managed three unanswered goals to hand the Aces their first loss, evening their overall record to one and one.
Game three took place Saturday morning at the Walter Gretzky Sports Center. The Aces matched up evenly with their opponent, the Owen Sound Ice Hawks. Taylor Neeb netted a pair for the Aces and despite surrendering a single goal, Ava Neumeister made a tremendously acrobatic game-changing save late in the third that helped secure the 2-1 victory and earn herself a much deserved game MVP.
With a record of two and one the Aces were on to the semi-final contest on Sunday morning against the St. Thomas Panthers. The Aces jumped out to an early lead when Rachel Horan banged home the opening goal of the game. Late in the second, Josie Walker shoveled one past the net-minder putting the Aces up by two. Shortly after, the Panthers responded with a goal on the power play, reducing the lead to one. With 1:55 left to play the Panthers scored the equalizer and the game headed to overtime.
The Panthers pounced quickly in OT, stealing a 3-2 victory and ending the Aces’ chance of advancing to the finals.
Next up, the Aces travel to Brussels on Tuesday to take on the Huron Heat.
Article by: E. Wheal