Lucas Punkari
Having dropped a round-robin contest to the Warroad 14U’s on Friday night, the local Skates & Blades Bantam girls’ squad was out for revenge in the tournament final here Sunday afternoon.
But despite their best efforts, the home side was unable to withstand a late charge from Warroad as the visitors captured the Bantam division title with a 4-3 win.
“Unfortunately, the old Canada/USA rivalry didn’t pan out for us today,” smiled Skates & Blades’ coach Trevor McKinnon.
“After being put on the ropes by them on Friday night, the girls came right back through the rest of the weekend and they left everything out on the table here in the final,” he lauded.
“The girls played hard-nosed from the start until the finish, and they have nothing to be ashamed of at all.”
Trailing 2-0 in the first period, Warroad tied the score midway through the second. But Myla Angus netted her second goal of the contest to give the hosts a 3-2 lead going into the third.
Warroad roared to life over the final few minutes, however, with Brooke Hellquist tying the game with five minutes left.
Then Shalese Snowdown notched her third goal of the afternoon, which turned out to be the game-winner, with just over a minute left on the clock.
“This was the third time that we have played this team, and they are always a tough team to go up against,” noted Warroad coach Brad Baumann.
“They played hard against us today, but the girls just kept on fighting and they played well to give us the victory.”
This also marked the first time that the Warroad 14U’s took part in a Fort Frances tournament, and Baumann said it was a trip well worth taking.
“We were really excited to get this tournament on our schedule this year as it’s something a little bit different for the girls to play in,” he explained.
“There was a lot of really strong competition here and some really close games that made this weekend a lot of fun, and we hope to come back again next year.”
In the third-place game of the Bantam division earlier Sunday, the Fort Frances BDO Stars staged a dramatic three-goal third-period comeback against the Dryden Drillers, capped by Jessica Coran’s second goal of the afternoon with five minutes to go, to earn a 4-3 win.
“I told the girls that my heart had stopped about four or five times there in that one,” laughed Stars’ head coach Dave Taggart.
“Dryden’s a very good club and they came right at us from the start, and we just told the girls on the bench to not quit out there and keep going.
“They did just that in the third period, and it just shows what you can accomplish when you face adversity,” he added.
A third local team, the NorFab Flames, finished round-robin play with a 1-2-1 record to get edged out of a playoff spot by the Thunder Bay Magic.
Midget action
In the Midget division final here Sunday, a stellar goaltending performance by Rebecca DiBiagio proved to be the difference as the Thunder Bay Sabres blanked the Dryden Talons 2-0.
“She’s been the number-one goalie all year long in our league back home,” noted Sabres’ head coach Wade Hovi.
“I think she has nine shutout so far this season, and she showed why she’s one of the best this entire weekend, especially in the final,” he added.
Jacie Indian and Whitney Sandberg scored third-period goals to help the Sabres take the title.
Despite watching his team fall short in the final, Talons’ head coach Jeff Lough was pleased with their performance.
“To finish with a second-place finish in our final tournament of the year is always nice,” he reasoned.
“We just didn’t get the lucky bounces today and their goalie was really sharp.”
In the third-place game, the Dryden Eliminators finished their weekend on a winning note by doubling the Thunder Bay Sharks 4-2.
The fifth-place game Sunday morning, meanwhile, was an all-Fort Frances battle between the Pharmasave Wildcats and the ACO Chargers, with the Chargers prevailing 3-0 on goals by Janelle Ferris, Rachel Devoe, and Megan Allan.
The Fort Frances Girls’ Hockey Association will stage another tournament this weekend, with the Novice and Atom teams taking centre stage from Friday-Sunday at the Memorial Sports Centre.
