In a closely fought game, the Dunlop Fuels and Rintoul’s Pools and Spa Atom Girls Team were downed 3 to 1 against Markdale on Saturday January 31st.
Right from the first puck drop this game was fast paced with lots of scoring opportunities and strong defensive play by both teams. Markdale was first on the board at 8:35. Down by one, Saugeen Shores forwards Savanah Brown, Alex Dimberg and Jamie Miller stepped up their game producing a hard shot on net by Dimberg a minute later.
Good hustle by the Storm defence kept the Markdale scoring chances to a minimum. At 6:55, Marley Scott, with a great back checking effort, chased down a streaking Markdale player steering her towards the corner wide of the Storm net. A few minutes later defenseman Sarah Bester reeled in another Markdale forward, poke checking the puck to steal away a scoring chance.
With a minute remaining in the first, Saugeen Shores’ efforts finally paid off. Bester, starting from behind her own net, stick handled her way around the opposing defensemen and stuffed the puck stick side past the Markdale goalie to tie the game at one.
The exciting action continued into the second period. With scrambles in front of the Storm net and point blank shots, goaltender Tori Janes stood tall stopping all attempts. Even forward Savanah Brown, in a heads up play, made a big stick save in front of her own net to prevent a certain goal.
At the other end, defensemen Taylor Ferguson and Ainsley Harron applied pressure by working the blue line and keeping the puck in the Markdale zone. As a result, the offensive line of Tiffany Kewageshig, Nikki Walker and Tori Sutter made some nice passing plays in front of the opposition’s net but couldn’t put the puck between the pipes.
With 50 seconds left in the second the Storm found themselves in a power play situation. In the dying seconds of the period Brown slid a pass out from the corner to Jamie Miller in the slot but Miller was unable to convert.
The Storm entered the third period with increased intensity. Winning the centre faceoff, the Storm surged down the ice resulting in a hard shot from the slot by Nikki Walker. On the next shift, the line of Fiona Miller, Jolina McLean and Alyssa Trumbley produced some good scoring chances by digging in the corners and winning battles along the boards, but the puck wouldn’t go in the net.
The game remained tied until Markdale took the lead by one with 8 minutes remaining in the third. Twenty two seconds later Markdale popped in their third goal of the game to take a 3-1 lead. Although the Storm continued to fight hard, the final score remained unchanged.