12U's Place 2nd in Toronto Tournament

The first game was dominated by TI as the play stayed in the opponent's zone for the majority of three periods. In the beginning, the teams skated cautiously hence, the 0-0 score at the end of the 2nd period. The first goal of the tournament for TI was finally scored in the third period when Sam Edelson slipped the puck past a sprawling goalie and into the far corner of the net. Tala Gallaga and Jessie Wienand got an assist each on the play. A few minutes later, Maggie Hunt kept the puck in the zone by passing the puck behind the net where Halley Baker picked it up and set the play up by drawing the defenseman out near the far corner and then slipped a softie to Sammi Weesner who came around the near post to stuff it in for a 2-0 lead. The scoring continued exactly two minutes and two seconds later when Amanda Gacioch chased the puck down in the right corner of TI's zone and passed it up to Kailee Heidersbach at the blue line. Kailee motored up the ice, made a move to the far side and then ripped one from the bottom of the left circle just under the goalie's pad and into the near corner of the net. TI up 3-0.  With only a minute and 42 seconds left in the game, Sam Edelson made a pass to the front of the net from the far side of the boards where Tala Gallaga tried to take a shot from her knees. The puck lay loose amongst a sea of blue & white jerseys until Jessie Wienand guided the puck into the near corner on one leg. TI's netminder, Julie Gunnerson, managed to stave off Scarborough's desperate attempts in spoiling her shutout. 

In the second game on Saturday morning against St. Clair Shores, TI did not wait as long as the previous afternoon to put up a tally. Midway through the first period, Katelyn Hodgman kept the puck in the zone along the boards and then made a drop pass to Madeline Tank waiting at the blue line. Madeline rifled a shot above the goalie's shoulder and into the top, far corner of the net. The shot was perfectly screened. TI lead 1-0. However, it did not take long for St. Clair to put their own offensive play together as they  tied the score at one with two and a half minutes left in the first period and then took the lead from TI in less than a minute after initially tying up the score. TI would have none of that. Shortly into the second period, Hodgman took a pass off the face-off and shot the puck into the opponent's zone along the boards. The puck bounced into the corner and around the net where Sammi Weesner would pick it up and stuff it in around the near post for her infamous Sammi-Wrap. That tally would tie it all up at 2. St. Clair battled back and took the lead again at 7:29 in the 3rd period. However, TI's goaltender, Stephanie Lemke, would shut the opponent down for the remainder of the game knowing that her teammates would pull through. And they did in dramatic fashion. With only 2 minutes left in the game, TI kept the pressure on their opponent. The St. Clair goalie made a shoulder save on a Madeline Tank shot from the point but gave up a rebound. A mad scramble ensued in front of the net and the puck squirted out between the circles. That's when Jessie Howerton came charging in for the puck and easily put it in the top shelf over a sprawling SC goalie. TI continued to put pressure on the opponent's netminder in the final half minute but could not get a game winner in. The game ended tied at 3-3. 

After the team dinner at Marche's above the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto, the girls returned to the rink to play against the Red Wings in their final game of the preliminary round. The game proved to be very intense and physical. The teams seemed evenly matched. Both teams had quality chances but their respective goalies blanked their opponent. TI's netminder, Julie Gunnerson, walked away with her second shutout of the tournament and a scoreless tie for her teammates. 

With 4 points after the first round of play, TI moved onto the semi-finals to square off against a local favorite, Etibicoke. Etibicoke (try saying that five times quickly) came out flying in the 1st period with two quick goals in the first four minutes of play. Although, down 2-0 after the end of the 1st period, TI would cut the lead in half with a three on one play which started in TI's own end. After TI's Stephanie Lemke made a blocker save on a  shot, the puck squirted out between the hash marks where Carolyn Fuwa tried grabbing the puck out of the crowd. Kailee Heidersbach swooped in to help out and skated the puck up the middle with her linemates, Carolyn to the left of her and Giovanna Senese to her right. With only the one defender concentrating on Kailee, Kailee made a nice pass to Giovanna who made sure she buried the puck in the net. It did not take long for TI to tie things up in the 3rd period. On a face-off just outside the opponent's zone, Madeline Tank dumped the puck deep into the corner where Halley Baker chased it down and passed it back to Tank at the point. Baker came back to help out when her teammate was tied up and came away with the puck. From the top of the  circle Baker shot toward the net. With Sammi Weesner battling a defenseman in front, Katelyn Hodgman was able to redirect Baker's shot in for the tying goal. With less than 5 minutes to play, TI took the lead, 3-2, on an unassisted goal by Giovanna Senese. Before the cheering ended on the TI side, Etibicoke came right back and scored a quickie to even it up at 3-3. De ja vu all over again! The final four minutes were filled with plenty of scoring opportunities and spectacular saves by Steph Lemke to keep TI's chances alive. Regulation time expired with the score remaining tied. The five minutes overtime period proved to be a very familiar seesaw battle with the puck going from one end of the ice to the other. With only about 30 seconds left on the clock in OT, Sammi Weesner shot a pass up the middle where Katelyn Hodgman picked it up and shoveled a backhander out front and Baker scooped it into the net for the game winner. Whew! What a nailbiter. 

The championship game finally started after a forty five minutes delay. Mississauga (kind of like Canada's version of Mississippi?) drew first blood as they scored early on in the first. TI came back a few minutes later with one of their own. The score remained even after one period. However, the exciting OT win earlier that morning proved to be draining as the girls began losing steam in the second period. Mississauga would go on to score two additional goals in the second for a final of 3-1.  

Though the girls came up a wee bit short of their ultimate goal, they should be proud of their play. Everyone had a hand in scoring even if their number did not make the score sheet. Behind the scene girls like Kelly Lahr and Samantha Ratty were defensively solid throughout tournament play controlling the tempo of the game. Frankie Morey proved she could battle fiercely in the corners and in front of the net even against giant players. Good work! 
Congratulations girls!