Five of our Saugeen Shores Storm Girls teams travelled to
Brantford this past weekend to participate in the 33rd Annual Walter
Gretzky Tournament, and to say they represented the SSMHA well would be an
understatement.
The tournament, which spanned over four days from Thursday to Sunday, is one of the largest tournaments in Ontario, hosting over 120 teams.
The SSMHA sent five teams to the tournament, resulting in over 70 players and their families at the tournament wearing the Storm colours and doing us all proud.
The Atom C girls brought home the Gold medal by defeating the Bluewater Hawks 2-0 in the Final on Sunday, after completing the round robin with 2 wins and 1 loss, and allowing just 1 goal against.
The Pee Wee C girls went undefeated through their 3 round robin games, and bested a very strong Sudbury Lady Wolves team in the semi final game to make it through to Sunday’s final. They had to settle for the Silver medal however, coming out on the wrong end of a very tight 1-0 Gold medal game against the Gloucester-Cumberland Stars.
In the Pee Wee HL division, the Storm girls finished the round robin with a 2 and 1 record, which was enough to earn them a spot in the semi final game on Sunday against the Orillia Hawks. The Storm girls fought hard for a full three periods but were eventually overcome in the overtime frame, losing 3-2.
The Bantam C team was unable to secure a win in their three very close round robin games, but managed to secure a 0-0 tie against the Norfolk HerIcanes. Unfortunately the lone point was not enough to vault them into the semi finals.
The Midget C team came out of the round robin with 3 points thanks to a convincing win over a team from Buffalo NY, and a 0-0 tie against Norfolk (like their Bantam counterparts). The round robin format meant the fate of our Midget C’s rested in the hands of the Buffalo team, who had to pull off a victory against a very strong team from Kanata. The victory didn’t materialize, and our girls did not advance to the semis.
All in all, the road trip to Brantford was a success for the Storm, bringing home a gold medal, a silver medal, a semi final berth and lots of great memories for the players, coaches and parents alike.