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16U Tally Wins to Start Season
On Saturday, September 11, 2004, the Team Illinois 16U
team traveled to Seven Bridges to face off against the Marist JV team.
This was the first game of the year for the girls and Coach Tony
Cachey and Coach Margaret Dumiak were anxious to see how the girls
would perform. As the boys entered the rink, it was apparent
that the girls would be facing a much bigger team in their initial
contest.
The nerves were obvious in the first period. There
were several missed opportunities on both ends of the ice. However,
the girls quickly settled down and began executing several crisp
passes resulting in some excellent scoring opportunities from all the
forwards including Katie Cachey, Jenna Dancewicz, Katie Iraci and
Melissa Kravich. Finally, at 12:37 Megan Bozek made a short pass
to Erika Greenen who blistered a wrist shot past the Marist goalie for
the first goal of the game and the team's first goal of the year.
The first period ended with TI recording a 1 to 0 lead.
The second period highlighted the overall team speed
of the 16U team. The Marist team was consistently beaten to
loose pucks by the smaller, yet quicker, TI skaters. Midway
through the period, Katie Daniels picked up a loose puck from behind
the net, skated past a series of defenders and slipped one past the
fallen goalie.
The game became more physical as the teams began the
third period. Both sides received roughing penalties in the
early part of the period. Several forwards including C. C.
Wyshnytzky, Brianna Wolf, Kim Kowalczyk and Katie Osikowicz were
especially strong digging the puck out of the corners. At 13:44,
Jillian Kirchner picked up a loose puck behind the Marist net and,
maneuvering to the front of the net, lifted the puck over the
sprawling goalie. To conclude the scoring, Erika Greenen
received a pass from Jillian Kirchner and rifled a shot past the
goalie for her second goal of the game. Final score: TI - 4, Marist -
0.
For the first game, it was an overall great effort by
the girls. All of the defensemen played a stronger game against
a much larger team. This year's defensemen include Courtney
Bean, Megan Bozek, Jordan Brickner, Katie Daniels, Diana Karouzos and
Erin May. Brittany Lemke had a strong game in the net stopping
several point blank efforts from the Marist forwards. For the game,
she stopped 17 shots on the net.
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The next day, Sunday, September 12th, the TI 16U team
returned to Seven Bridges to face the Marist JV hockey team again for
game two. For this game, Megan Gallagher was between the pipes
and would need to have a great game to stop the Marist gunners. It
also appeared that the Marist team was joined by several members of
their varsity team who were missing from the previous game. From
the opening face off, the TI girls kept up the pressure recording
several shots on goal in the opening minutes. At 6:10,
relentless fore checking from Katie Cachey paid off when she scored on
a wraparound past a surprised Marist goalie. The unassisted goal
made the score 1 to 0 for TI. During the second period, all of
the defensemen contributed to limiting the Marist team to very few
shots on goal. Megan Gallagher also came up big in stopping
several Marist breakaways to keep the score at 1 to 0.
The third period offered more of the same close style
of play. In a last ditch effort to tie the score, Marist pulled
their goalie to utilize an extra attacker. Once again, the
defense came up big as Courtney Bean skated the puck out of the TI
zone, fed a pass to Katie Iraci who promptly buried the puck into the
open net. The 16U beat Marist 2 to 0. For the game, TI out
shot Marist 33 to 18, and recorded their second shutout of the
year.
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On Sunday, September 19, the TI 16U team traveled
north to Milwaukee to play the women's senior team from the new
Powerade rink in Cudahy, Wisconsin. The Powerade team is comprised of
former D1 and D3 skaters as well as former travel hockey players who
desire to continue playing hockey. The girls were anxious to
test their skills against an older, more experienced group of
skaters.
The Powerade team came out aggressively keeping the
puck in the TI zone for the opening minutes of the first period.
Their experience was evident as they were able to maneuver to an
open area in front of the net and fire a wrist shot past Brittany
Lemke at the four minute mark. This appeared to ignite the TI
team as they reeled off the next 8 shots on goal against the Powerade
goalie. Although trailing 1 to 0 after the first period, the TI
group was confident that their continued pressure would yield positive
results.
The second period opened with several great saves by
the Powerade goalie on breakaways from the TI skaters. At 6:31
Megan Bozek passed cross ice to Courtney Bean who blistered a low slap
shot from the point. A surprised Powerade goalie was not able to
stop the biscuit and TI tied the score at 1 to 1. At the halfway
point of the second period, Megan Gallagher replaced Brittany in the
net. She immediately was tested and came up with a key point
blank save. The TI pressure continued as Jillian Kirchner and
Katie Osikowicz assisted on a wrist shot from Brianna Wolf that gave
TI a 2 to 1 lead after the second period.
The younger legs of the 16U team proved to be too much
for the more experienced Powerade team in the third period. Melissa
Kravich, after receiving a crisp pass from Katie Iraci, quickly
snapped a wrist shot overpowering the Powerade goalie at 12:35. Attempting
to get back into the game, the Powerade goalie was pulled at the 2
minute mark. Several scrambles in front of the net failed to
yield any goals for the frustrated Powerade team. With the clock
winding down, C.C. Wyshnytzky shot toward the open net. The puck
deflected to the front of the net and Jillian Kirchner tipped it in at
the 0:26 second mark. Aggressive forechecking by Katie Cachey,
Jenna Dancewicz and Erika Greenen kept the puck in the Powerade zone
for much of the last period. Kim Kowalczyk did a great job in
digging the puck out of the corners and creating numerous scoring
chances. The defensive corps of Megan Bozek, Katie
Daniels, Diana Karouzos, Erin May, Brianna Wolf and Courtney Bean
combined to coolly and calmly intercept passes, clear the zone and
initiate an efficient transition game.
Before the game, the team learned about a knee injury
to Jordan Brickner. Jordan is undergoing a series of tests to
determine the extent of the injury. Everyone wishes Jordan a
speedy and complete recovery. Her standout play at the point
will be critical to the team's success as they enter into league play
in several weeks.
The long trip home was made much more enjoyable by a
post game party hosted by John and Barbaragale Dancewicz. Mrs.
Wolf and Mrs. Cachey played a very entertaining game of tennis and
several girls enjoyed a post game swim in the pool. The dads
enjoyed the Bears win over the Packers while feasting on the numerous
snacks at the party. Once again, thanks again to the Dancewicz
family for opening their beautiful house to the team.
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