Storm Pee Wee Girls Advance to Second Round of OWHA Playdowns
The
Port Elgin Veterinary Clinic / Port Elgin Lions Club Storm Pee Wee Girls secured
themselves a spot in the second round of the OWHA Regional Playdowns with a
spectacular 2-1 win against the Tiverton Thunder on Saturday at the Plex in Port
Elgin.
Saturday’s game was a must-win for the Storm, and it was filled drama and excitement from early on. Tiverton jumped ahead 1-0 just 1:04 into the opening frame on a nice goal by sniper Malorie Woods. The quick start by Tiverton had some of the Storm fans nervous, and things only got worse when solid Storm winger Brittany Greig went down hard into the boards midway through the first. After some tense moments, Greig was helped from the ice, but only after suffering a fractured wrist.
Greig’s injury seemed to spur on the rest of her team as they quickly turned things up a notch offensively which carried into the second period in which they outshot the Thunder 7 – 3. It was midway through the second when Storm defenceman Brianne Becker scored her first of two in the game. On one of her patented end to end rushes Becker convincingly found the top corner, bringing the entire crowd to their feet and drawing some approving “oohs” and “aahs” from the two midget boys team who were in attendance.
Knowing that a tie would not be enough to propel them into the second playoff round, the Storm offense were relentless in their attack, managing to keep the puck in the Tiverton end for the majority of the second frame. The remaining Storm wingers, Christina McLean, Olivia Osborne, Zoe Mackintosh, Brie Bingham and Jessica Martin did a spectacular job in the offensive end, forcing the Tiverton defence to make numerous turnovers. With centres Emma DeBoer, Alexis Martin and Teaghan Johnston seemingly unbeatable in the faceoff circle, the Storm were truly firing on all cylinders when it mattered most.
The eventual winning goal came from the stick of Becker who, with 1:40 remaining in the second, roofed a wrist shot over the shoulder of Thunder goaltender Olivia Convay.
The third period saw the Thunder come out with renewed energy and they managed to keep pace with the Storm offence, equalling their shots on goal output at 5. Solid clearing efforts by the Storm defence as well as some stellar play by goaltender Erica Parker kept the Thunder at bay.
As with every meeting against Tiverton this season, the excitement lasted until the closing buzzer. With the Thunder goalie on the bench and a minute to play in the game, Malorie Woods broke through the Storm defence and raced towards the Saugeen Shores goal unfettered. Parker was up to the challenge though, stoning Woods’ breakaway attempt with a season saving stop.
Congratulations to the Storm girls, who rose to the challenge in the most important game of their season. They now move on to the second OWHA Playdown series where they will again face off against Tiverton, as well as the Owen Sound Ice Hawks and the league leading Markdale Shooting Stars.
