The Assabet Valley Girls Hockey Association is one of the largest and most successful girls’ hockey clubs in the country. Each year, they host a tournament at the end of October which features some of the best teams at the 16U and 19U levels. For the Team Illinois 16U’s, it was a yardstick to see how they stacked up with some of the best competition in the land.
The action started on Friday evening, Oct. 28th, against the 19U squad from the National Sports Academy, a prep school in Lake Placid. The tournament format awarded points for each period won and both teams played stingy defense in a scoreless first period. The pace was fast and TI’s offensive pressure finally paid off early in the second when they converted a rebound to jump out in front 1-0. It stayed that way until early in the third when some aggressive fore checking resulted in a second score for the girls in blue and a 2-0 advantage. Late in the third, another flurry in front of the NSA net ended in the games final tally and sent TI home with a 3-0 victory and 4.5 out of a possible 5 points in their opening game.
Saturday morning was the match up that everyone had been waiting for …..the Assabet Valley 16U Red team. Always a powerhouse, this year is no exception. The action was fast and furious from the drop of the puck. Both teams worked the full ice, neither willing to give the other an inch. Both goaltenders were up to the test and after the first 17 minutes, there were still goose eggs on the board. The second period would bring more of the same, both teams generating scoring chances but ending the frame with nothing to show for it. The score remained 0-0 until there were only two minutes left in the game and Assabet executed a perfect two on one break to go up 1-0. TI was not finished; they pulled the goalie and threw everything they had at the hometown team but Assabet iced the victory with 19 seconds left by converting an empty netter to make the final 2-0.
Despite being disappointed that they came up short in the morning game, TI entered the evening contest against Syracuse tied for their division lead and knew that a convincing victory could earn them an opportunity to be one of the four teams to advance to Sunday’s competition. Syracuse, however, is a team with a lot of pride and was not going to go down without a fight. They scored first with about 5 minutes left in the first period and threatened to capture a valuable point for winning the first period. But they took a hooking penalty with a minute left in the period to put TI on the power play. In a bold move, coaches Cachey and Hug pulled the goalie for a 6 on 4 advantage and the strategy paid off as TI netted the tying goal seconds later. Knowing that they needed a victory and the majority of the points, the TI coaches again called their net minder to the bench in favor of a sixth attacker in the second period and again the girls came through, taking the lead with six minutes to go in period two. The third period was another scoreless deadlock until the final minute when TI executed a fast break that ended with the puck in the net and a 3-1 final verdict. By scoring in all three periods, they had earned 4.5 out of a possible 5.0 points and secured their place in the top four teams in the tournament.
Their success earned them a date with former TI standout goalie Molly Schaus and her Assabet Valley 19U teammates. The TI 16’s knew they would have to post a superior effort to compete with perhaps the top 19U team in the country and they came out bound and determined to do exactly that. In another game of up and down action, both teams generated scoring chances but the goaltenders remained perfect after one. With three minutes gone in the second, TI was whistled for interference, sending Assabet to the power play. With the penalty almost expired, they converted for the first score of the game. A couple of minutes later, TI found themselves on the wrong end of a 5 on 3 and the result was another power play goal for Assabet. The trend continued in the third period, TI was called for holding two minutes into the period and again Assabet connected with the extra player. In a slight variation on the same theme, the teams were skating 4 a side with about 9 minutes to go when Assabet stretched their lead to 4-0. The skating skills and ability to move the puck was clearly evident the more ice they had to operate. The youngsters from the Midwest could have easily packed it in at this point and coasted for the rest of the game but they desperately wanted to get on the scoreboard. With three and a half minutes left, Coaches Cachey and Hug rolled the dice again and pulled the goalie for a sixth skater. Again the strategy paid off and a fired up TI squad had broken the shutout. They tried valiantly to close the gap further but Assabet converted an empty netter to seal a 5-1 triumph.
Their goal was to see if they could compete with the best of the best…..they left Boston convinced that they can. Brittany Lemke played every minute (except for the occasion break when she was pulled) in goal as Beth Hitchcock was sidelined with an injury. The defensive corps of Megan Bozek, Katie Daniels, Randi Jensen, Diana Karouzos, Ashley Mileykovsky, and Jackie Otto was solid in their own zone and moved the puck well to jumpstart the offense. Katie Iraci, Melissa Kravich, and Moira O’Connor used their stick handling skills and pinpoint passing to set up scoring chances. Katie Cachey, Jenna Dancewicz, and Brianna Wolf banged and crashed and battled in all three zones. Erika Greenen, Kim Kowalczyk, and Haley Williams used their speed to keep the pressure on all of their opponents.
All in all, a very impressive weekend by a team that has set the bar high and continues to work hard to reach their goals.
