The Port Elgin Veterinary Clinic / Port Elgin Lions Club Storm Pee Wee Girls took third place in a one day tournament this week in Lions Head.
The first ever Reg Krueger Memorial Tournament was hosted by the Peninsula Wild, who went on to win the gold medal.
Some less
than ideal driving conditions delayed the start of the tournament, but once
things got started it was a very well organized affair.
The Storm’s
first game saw them face off against the host team Peninsula Wild. Despite some great play at both ends of the
ice, the Storm found themselves down 3-0 midway through the second period. The girls took the ice in the third with
renewed vigor and played a much more defensively disciplined style of game, but
they couldn’t find the back of the net.
The Wild finished the Storm off 4 – 0 on an empty net goal with zero
seconds on the clock.
The second
game of the day was against the Walkerton Capitals. The Capitals had lost earlier in the day as
well, so this was a must win game for both teams and it showed. The game was filled with end to end action,
with both goaltenders making a seemingly endless amount of game saving stops. At one point, the Storm found themselves with
a two-man advantage as the Walkerton team took two penalties within 20 seconds
of each other. Unfortunately, despite
relentless pressure, the Storm squad failed to capitalize.
Tied 0 – 0 late
into the third, the game was headed to overtime when the unthinkable
happened. On a seemingly harmless rush, Capital
winger Arianne Beglaw managed to squeeze in a wraparound attempt past Storm net
minder Erica Parker, who had played a flawless game.
On a
brighter note, the Storm were very successful in the two individual skills
competitions that took place at the tournament.
With each event featuring 15 competitors, Storm players Emma DeBoer and
Brianne Becker took 1st and 3rd place in the speed
skating competition while Heather Kozak and Brittany Greig took 1st
and 2nd in the shooting accuracy competition. Way to go girls!!