By Rachel Williams
After coming away winless at the Oakville Hornets Tournament
the previous weekend, the Dunlop Fuels and Rintoul’s Pool and Spas Atom Girls
team logged a 1-1 tie against Mount Forest on Sunday February 27th
at the Plex.
Mount Forest came out of the starting blocks fast, netting a goal in the first minute of play. Saugeen Shores shook it off and settled into their game. On defense, Rachel Kelly and Janelle Fowler worked together as a team backchecking and dumping the puck up ice. The line of Jamie Miller, Amber Hou and Kaitlin Ferguson applied offensive pressure in the Mount Forest end with Ferguson making some nice passes to give her line mates scoring chances.
Eve Martin kicked off the second with a breakaway charge on net but was tripped before she could release a shot. On the ensuing power play, Tori Sutter-Lammie and line mates Sasha Morano and Victoria Matheson had some great scoring opportunities digging hard in front of the net but the Mount Forest goalie stopped all attempts. All forward lines on the Saugeen Shores Storm continued to play well. Carly Acton, Tori Janes and Eve Martin made some nice passing plays, stick handling the puck up ice into the Mount Forest zone, but just couldn’t put the puck in the net.
Alyssa Trumbley was solid in net making some key saves in the second including one at point blank range at the 6 minute mark to keep Saugeen Shores in the game.
With just under 3 minutes remaining in the second, Miller, Ferguson and Hou charged up the ice. Assisted by Ferguson, Hou worked the puck around the back of the Mount Forest net and made a sweet pass to Miller who was standing in front of the goalie. Miller one-timed it over the goalie’s stick to tie the game.
The third period was marked by penalties both for and against the Storm. The Storm played strong on the penalty kill led by the defense. Lauren MacDonald made several nice stick checks on breaking Mount Forest forwards to prevent them from getting shots on net. Janelle Fowler won battles in the corners while Marley Scott moved the puck along the boards out of the Storm zone. Teena-Marie Ritchie worked tirelessly behind the net making sure she was first to the puck. Ainsley Harron stick handled the puck over the blue line to feed the breaking forwards and Rachel Kelly carried the puck up ice and drilled a short-handed shot on net.
On the power play, Matheson and Morano combined for a nice scoring chance and next shift Martin and Janes almost stuffed the puck past the Mount Forest goalie.
Tiffany Kewageshig who took over goal tending duties from Trumbley mid way through the second made some key saves late in the third including a pad save on a breakaway attempt and a huge stick save with less than 4 minutes left in the game. The Storm had one final penalty kill to finish the third. When the buzzer sounded the final score was Saugeen Shores 1, Mount Forest 1.
Next up for the Atom girls is the playoff tournament the weekend of March 5 and 6th.