U16 ICE HAWKS RETURN TO THE BIRTHPLACE OF RINGETTE AND BRING HOME SILVER
It’s been almost 4 years since our ladies
have travelled to North Bay “THE HOME OF RINGETTE” as this was the sight of
their first Provincial win in the 2012 U12 Provincial Petite Championships. Our girls are now Juniors and if this was to
be a triumphant return it was going to take a big effort as the competition at
the Agnes Jacks Memorial Tournament was tough, including the host West Ferris
63’s now ranked in the top 5 in the province as well as the GCRA Devils and the
Sudbury Thunder.
Our tournament got underway with a game Friday evening against the GCRA Devils…this was the second meeting of this season between the two teams, the first meeting went in favour of our side with a 3-1 win in Oshawa. The girls got off to a quick start in this one and led by a pair at the end of the first period. The second period saw GCRA close the gap however the Ice Hawks prevailed in a 4-3 final.
Game 2 Saturday morning brought on the host team West Ferris 63’s, the Sault’s only other meeting this season with West Ferris resulted in a 4-1 loss in St. Catherine’s. The first period began with the 63’s pushing hard in the offensive zone and taking advantage of their opportunities pulling out to a 3-0 lead before the first period was 8 minutes old. The Ice Hawks however found their stride and created space in an East/West format that has become an advantage over the opposition this season giving the girls time and space to make smart decisions and accurate passes and it was not long after the start of the second period that the girls had closed the gap to 4-3. West Ferris would add a goal late in the second however to make the final 5-3.
Game 3 Saturday evening pitted the Ice Hawks against the Sudbury Thunder and the girls did not lose a step in continuing their spirited play from the early morning game. The Sault jumped out to an early lead and built up a sizeable advantage at 6-2 by the halfway point of the second period. It was then that our momentum turned on an unfortunate event that took our goaltender out of the game. They say however that through adversity comes growth and it would be Shellbey Walker to step up and take the crease in what turned out to be 5 of the longest minutes of ringette anyone would witness. Sudbury scored only 2 goals for the rest of the game and in that time frame the Sault would be 2 skaters short for almost 2 minutes, make the final 6-4.
Game 4 Sunday morning was a rematch with the team from Sudbury in a 2vs4 match up…sometimes the hardest feat to perform in any sport is the back to back win and this was indeed the case in the rematch. Sudbury came out with a renewed desire to find their first win of the season and the Sault with the help of a backup goaltender could not seem to find the mark. The Thunder took an early advantage and the stellar goaltending from the other side kept the Sault off the score sheet for most of the game and the final score 4-1 in favour of the other side.
Our 2 wins in the round robin was however good for 4 points and a spot in the final on Sunday afternoon against the host team West Ferris 63’s. North Bay again got off to a good start scoring early in the first period but the Sault with Alyssa Desgagne back between the pipes would not allow this one to get out of hand…the defense was outstanding throughout this game and our scoring chances in both the first and second periods would just miss the mark…the final result a hard fought 2-0 loss and the silver medal.
The season is now ¾ complete and our record at 7 wins 5 losses are good for 14 points and 9th place in the 23 team division. Our growth this season has been steady and we are now in a strong position heading into our final tournament next month in West Ottawa ahead of the March Provincials in Timmins. Every season seems to have its share of highs and lows and it continues to be the dedication and hard work of the players and coaching staff that will keep us on track to have one of our most successful years to date.
Thanks as always to the coaching staff of Bruce Graham, Debbie Desgagne, Carl Desgagne, Marc Baril and Julie Stocks for their leadership and patience… A special thanks also to our sponsors; Helix IT; Feifel, Broadbent and Gualazzi; Microtel; the Toronto Dominion Bank; Strictly Confidential Inc; Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre; Algoma Industrial Ltd; Reyco Automotive and Industrial Supply LTD; Leslie Advertising; Micheal O’Toole Orthodontist; BJ Stocks Wildfire Investigations and Main Street Pharmacy.
HAVE A WILD TIME IN WEST OTTAWA GIRLS!!!
GO ICE HAWKS!!!
-Dennis Campbell