Sep 29, 2019 | Sean Cameron | 517 views
Humphrey Fleet Service Takes Gold
The Humphrey Fleet Service Atom A Aces kicked off the 2019-20 season by capturing the St. Thomas Big Cat tournament Atom A championship September 22 with a 5-1 win over the Lakeshore Lightning.
The Aces opened the tourney versus the St. Thomas Panthers, September 20. The teams battled to a scoreless draw through the first. The relentless attack of the Aces was finally rewarded late in the second when Maeve Moss found Abby Van Bakel. She cut down the left side and sniped a shot off the left pad and in. Jayda Houben fed Emersyn Miller away on a breakaway early in the third and she found the bottom corner for a 2-0 lead. With just over a minute remaining, Houben and Moss sprung Miller lose again and she cut in and hesitated long enough to draw the goalie out of position and she roofed in top right. Sixteen seconds later, Houben sealed the 4-0 victory with Miller and Jayda Dietz picking up assists. Chloe Rison earned the shutout making some key saves especially early on. Miller was the player of the game.In game two, the Aces faced the Lakeshore Lightning. Malaika Kibedi got the start between the pipes. Midway through the first, Emma Nes sent Krista McMahon in on a breakaway and she rifled it past the netminder to get the Aces on the board. Two minutes into the second, Van Bakel made it 2-0 on the set up by Eve Binns. A minute later, Miller danced around the defender and ripped a shot top shelf. Dietz picked up an assist. Early in the third, the Lightning jumped on a rebound off the top of the goal post and slipped it home to cut the lead to 3-1. Kibedi had to make some good saves as the Lightning pressed for the equalizers but Van Bakel made it insurmountable when she dented the twine with four minutes left. Binns assisted. With just over 40 seconds remaining, Miller sealed the 5-1 win when she picked it up in the corner and ripped it top shelf. McMahon was the player of the game.On September 21, the Aces took on the North York Storm and walked away with a lopsided 11-0 victory. McMahon got things started midway through the first when she broke in and ripped a shot top corner from the high slot. Fifteen seconds into the second, Cameron fed Miller and she worked her magic to make it 2-0. Seconds later, Cameron found Dietz and she made no mistake. Houben, Ava Harmer, and Miller (2) added second period goals with Harmer, Dietz, Cameron and Camryn Medhurst picking up assists. The Aces changed it up in the third giving players a chance to try new positions. McMahon, Eden Fraser, Dietz and Moss scored with assists to Moss, Van Nes, Linley Porter, Medhurst and Maren Marshall. Rison picked up the shutout. Fraser earned player of the game honours. The semifinal was a rematch with the Storm. An end to end rush by Fraser two minutes in found the five hole. After Dietz, from Miller, made it 2-0, Fraser potted her second unassisted and the Aces were up three after the first. Van Bakel, Van Nes, Cameron, McMahon, Dietz (3), Houben, and Kylin Wilson added second period snipes. Dietz, Van Bakel, Binns and McMahon added tallies in the third. All Aces got on the board in the lopsided contest but most importantly, their tenacious pressure and relentless drive limited the chances on Kibedi, who earned the shutout. With five goals, Dietz was selected as player of the game.The win sent the Aces to the final versus the Lightning. Eight seconds in, Cameron sprung Miller and she weaved around the defender and fired a missile top shelf. Midway through the first, Miller jammed home a goal mouth scramble with Cameron picking up the assist. Late in the frame, with the Aces in the middle of a line change, Binns coolly slipped the puck by the defender to Miller and she fought off the defender, cut to the middle and slid it five hole for the natural hat trick. The scoreless second featured more great stops by the Lightning goalie as the Aces pressed for more. Rison calmly made the saves as necessary as the Aces defenders were ferocious and limited the Lightning chances. Early in the third, the Aces went up 4-0 on a goal mouth scramble as Dietz banged it home from Miller. After Lakeshore found the back of the net Van Nes rounded out the scoring when she calmly flipped a backhander on net on a rush and it bounced off the defender and into the net for a 5-1 victory. It was a true team effort with every player contributing at least a point in the tournament and most importantly, demonstrating a commitment to team defence.
