Feb 10, 2013 | kbruce | 1963 views
One goal shy of advancing at Silver Stick tournament
The Bantam A Ice Hawks, sponsored by Wiarton Golf and Mar Wind showed up to play at this year's Silver Stick tournament hosted by the Aurora Panthers. With two wins and one loss, the competition was so close among 16 teams, that they missed advancing to the quarter finals by one goal.
The Ice Hawks made their way down to Aurora in the middle of a nasty winter storm, making for a longer-than-normal drive for everyone, but luckily they all arrived safely and ready to play. The first opponent was The New Jersey Colonials. This team was unable to put any goals in, and Paige played for the shut-out, while Kylie Maue assisted by Callan Yost, and Miranda Bruce scored for the Hawks. This resulted in their first win of the tournament, and a 2 to 0 win to start the day.
After a short break, the girls returned to the arena on Friday, with the Oakville Hornets as their opponent. The Ice Hawks played amazing, working for that second win. Scoring by Callan Yost, assisted by Kylie Maue, and Kathryn Schreiber, assisted by Olivia Linklater. Again, two goals were scored, but this time, it was not enough to defeat the Hornets, and with 3 goals, the Hornets came out with the win. So, the Hawks left the arena after a close 3 to 2 loss. Food and Fun helped to put the loss behind the team, and with Birthday celebrations in the mix for Jessica and Erica, the girls quickly made the best of their time together, and got ready for another day of play on Saturday.
Saturday was a chance to play the Georgina Golden Hawks, and earn a spot in the quarter finals. Both teams played well, but the Hawks again scored two goals. The first goal was scored by Gabby Jex, getting her own rebound and making a great shot above the goalie to get the Hawks on the score board. Then, in a bold play, Erica Vokes jumped out of her comfort zone as a blue-liner, and carried the puck deep into the offensive end, making a shot which rebounded to the stick of Kylie Maue, who quickly capitalized and put the puck past the goalie. Paige kept the team in the game, allowing only one goal into her net, so the Hawks were delighted to take the win with a score of 2 to 1.
The outcome of several other games were needed to determine which teams advanced, but after several games played out, our team was told that we were edged out by only one goal. The Hawks should have been credited for some of the goals that were called back during the games, and would have went on to play on Sunday.
Great job at Silver Stick, team!! Next challenge; a series with Stratford to determine who will be playing in Provincials, hosted in Ottawa! This series starts next weekend.