Feb 21, 2011 | Sean Fowler | 2606 views
Storm Pee Wee Girls Take Third in Oakville
The Port Elgin Lions Club / Port
Elgin Veterinary Clinic Storm Pee Wee Girls team traveled to Oakville this past
weekend (Feb 18-20) to participate in the 15th annual Oakville Hornets Girls
Hockey Tournament. After five exciting games that left the rowdy Storm fans
wanting just one more, the girls had to settle for a third place finish in the
20 team Pee Wee division.
The Storm scouts had little luck uncovering any pre game info on the first opponent of the weekend, the Barrie Blue Barries, so the Storm players, coaches and fans didn’t know what to expect. As it turned out, the weekend started off on a winning note, with Storm goaltender Sarah Underwood earning her first career shutout and game MVP honours, leading her team to a 2-0 win over the Blue Barries. Scoring for the Storm were Sarah Bester from Zainab Shiekh and Alexis Martin from Bester and Fiona Miller.
Game 2 took place later that day and pitted the Storm against unlikely rivals the Oakville Red Ninjas. The Storm had met the Red Ninjas a month previous at the Cambridge Roadrunners tournament, losing a squeaker 4-3 that sent the Saugeen Shores team packing so they were hoping to exact some revenge.
Things were not going the Storm’s way early on, falling behind 3-0 to close out the first period. The scoreless second period had the Storm fans nervous and quiet, wondering if there was going to be an early end to the weekend’s festivities. Knowing that a loss would dash any hopes of advancing, the Storm players came out in the third fired up with renewed energy. An early goal by Alexis Martin from Sarah Bester and Mackenzie Hall got the fans back into the game believing a third period comeback was possible. The Storm’s second goal of the game, a seeing eye shot from the stick of defenseman Leah Fowler, who also earned game MVP honours, put the Ninjas back on their heels and sent the Storm fans into frenzy. With 90 seconds left on the clock Coach Paul Martin put his infamous goalie-out play into action in a last ditch effort to tie the game and make advancing to the next round a possibility. The tactic worked perfectly as Alexis Martin scored her second of the game with 42 seconds left in the third to earn the tie, with assists going to Rochelle Salters and Sarah Bester.
Saturday’s schedule had the Storm facing off against the Mississauga Panthers, another team that was unknown to the Storm players and staff. Not only did the Storm need a win to advance, but they needed a 5 goal differential, and the powerful Storm offence did not disappoint. With goaltender Sarah Underwood and the defensive corps of Leah Fowler, Taylor Ferguson, Zainab Shiekh and Hailey Patrice keeping things under control at the back end of the rink, the forwards managed one of their most powerful outbursts of the season. They showed the fans the depth of their line-up, with five different players scoring for the Storm: Rochelle Salters from Alexis Martin; Martin from Sarah Bester and Hailey Woods; Zainab Shiekh unassisted; Bester from Mackenzie Hall; Woods from Salters. The 5-0 victory earned them first place in the pool and Shiekh’s solid play on the blue line earned her MVP honours.
The quarter final game took place later on Saturday afternoon and had the Storm up against the Hamilton Hawks, a wildcard entry from another pool. Still pumped from their powerful victory earlier in the day, the Storm came out strong and took a first period 3 -0 lead on goals from Alexis Martin, Hailey Patrice and Hailey Woods, with assists going to MacKenna Johnston, Rochelle Salters and Taylor Ferguson. The Hawks clawed their way back into the game scoring two unanswered goals in the second frame, but Storm winger Fiona Miller lifted the hearts of Storm fans scoring two third period goals (assisted by Leah Fowler and Brittany Greig) to lead the Storm to victory and onto the semi -finals.
Sunday morning’s semi -final game saw the Storm facing off once again against the dreaded Oakville Red Ninjas, who made it through to the playoff round as a wildcard. The two teams were now very familiar with one another, and the Red Ninjas surely were out to avenge being knocked out of first place in their pool. The tension in the air was thick. The Red Ninjas went up by one early in the first, but Storm scoring sensation Alexis Martin scored with 43 seconds left in the first frame to even the score at 1-1, with assists going to Rochelle Salters and Brittany Greig.
Oakville again took the lead midway through the second but the goal was countered less than a minute later by Storm winger Sarah Bester who, on a nice feed from Rochelle Salters, crashed the net and batted home her own rebound on a great second effort.
Late in the third period the Storm took the lead for the first time in the game as Rochelle Salters, assisted by Alexis Martin and Sarah Bester, shovelled home a loose puck after a mad scramble in front of the Oakville goal. The Storm seemed to have taken control of the game and had the Red Ninjas hemmed in their own end for what seemed like an eternity as the clock ticked down in the late stages of the third. Then, on a seemingly routine clearing attempt with 1:20 left to play, a bouncing puck got the better of Storm defender Leah Fowler and was tipped past her by Oakville sniper Sydney Jackson. The Storm defenders tried in vain to catch up to Jackson, but she was able to evade them both and fired a nice wrist shot past Sarah Underwood to tie the game. We were going to overtime.
The five minute overtime period was all Storm. Good cycling of the puck down low and solid positional play led to at least five scoring opportunities during the overtime frame, but the Oakville goalie held her team in it and the overtime period ended in a draw. We were going to a shootout.
The simultaneous shootout format made for a very stressful experience for both players and fans alike. The Storm’s first shooter, Zainab Shiekh made a nifty move to deke the Oakville netminder, but her shot hit the post and stayed out. At the same time, the Oakville shooter managed to slip one past Sarah Underwood. It was now a “must score” situation for the Storm’s next shooter, Alexis Martin, and a “must save” situation for goaltender Underwood. Unfortunately neither happened, with Martin missing on another nice deke attempt, and Underwood being beaten as well. The Red Ninjas were on their way to the final, and the Storm were on their way home as third place finishers.
Despite the disappointment of losing the semi- final game, the girls have everything to be proud of for their efforts over the weekend and should hold their heads high. They showed grace and class both on and off the ice. The resolve to come back from a 3-0 deficit, the discipline and drive to score 5 goals when they needed them, the compassion to be supportive of one another … these are all signs of a great team.
This fan would like to thank the team, coaching staff and their great fans for an entertaining and memorable weekend.
The players: Sarah Underwood (G), Leah Fowler (D) , Hailey Patrice (D), Taylor Ferguson (D), Zainab Shiekh (D), Alexis Martin (C), Rochelle Salters (C), Sarah Bester (F), Mackenzie Hall (F), Fiona Miller (F), MacKenna Johnston (F), Hailey Woods (F), Brittany Greig (F).
The coaching staff: Paul Martin, Steve Miller, Chad Woods, Linda Bester.
The Storm will close out their regular season later this month and are looking forward to the WOAA Year End Tournament taking place on Mar 25-27 in Thornbury.