Staff
The Chiefs exploded out of the gate, as expected.
Then they imploded, which nobody expected.
The Emo Misfits scored five unanswered goals, including a hat trick from Claire Sandelovich, to pave their way to a 5-1 victory in the championship game of the second-annual Chiefs Women’s Hockey Invitational Tournament this past Sunday at the Couchiching First Nation Arena.
Jess Taggart converted a Bailey Langford pass behind Misfits goalie Katie Stearns to put the defending champion Chiefs in front just a minute into the contest.
But that momentum faded away as the Misfits slowly built momentum as the period wore on.
Emo notched the equalizer on a stupendous rush by Balmertown import Micah Cabral, who helped the Rainy River Community College Voyageurs win the silver medal at the American College Hockey Association Division 2 national women’s championship in Kalamazoo, Mich., just one week earlier.
Cabral split the seam of the Chiefs’ defence pairing and walked in alone to beat Chiefs goalie Ali McIvor high to the glove side at 9:40.
In the second, it would be the Misfits striking early thanks in part to a bad line change by the Chiefs.
Sandelovich waltzed in on the left wing as part of a 2-on-1 and decided to keep the puck, which proved to be a good choice after she rifled it by McIvor on the stick side just 30 seconds into the frame for Emo’s first lead of the game.
After Sandelovich got out of the box shortly thereafter following a high-sticking call against her, she watched Jessie Baker roar down the wing and put a shot on goal.
Sandelovich jumped into the play and deposited the rebound behind McIvor at 5:30 for a 3-1 advantage.
Emo wasn’t finished causing damage in the stanza, with Cabral’s Voyageurs defence partner putting herself in the spotlight.
Marissa Lindblad, a California native who was profiled for her roller hockey skills when she was seven during a Los Angeles Kings T.V. broadcast over a decade ago, pulled off a majestic pickpocket job on Taggart in the neutral zone.
Lindblad then showcased her wheels by zooming down the right wing and around the Chiefs’ defence before cutting to the net and lifting the puck past McIvor at 10:40 for a three-goal cushion.
A fatigued Chiefs team had no gas in the tank for a third-period comeback.
Instead, it was Sandelovich prompting some headgear hurling when she attacked the net after Janelle Andy’s original shot and outwaited a downed McIvor before firing the puck in for the lone goal of the period at 6:55.
Stearns earned the win in net, while McIvor was saddled with the loss.
The two teams had played a much tighter affair the previous evening that included a phenomenal final minute.
With the teams tied 2-2, the Chiefs’ Danielle Jean parked what seemed like the game-winner behind Stearns with 33.7 seconds left.
But off a scramble in front and with Stearns on the bench for an extra attacker, Sandelovich corralled a loose puck and bulged the twine with 11.1 remaining on the clock to salvage a 3-3 tie.
Nicole Beadle and Lindblad had the other markers for Emo, while Shae Smith had a pair of goals for the Chiefs.
The Misfits began the tourney by blanking the Kenora Rebel Roofers 2-0 behind the shutout work of Stearns between the pipes.
Cabral had one of the Emo goals, while Sandelovich added the other.
In the Misfits’ second game, it took a goal by former Muskies captain Kailey Curtis with 3:20 left in the third to pull out a 2-2 draw with the Kenora Blades.
Curtis and Baker set up Sandelovich for the other Emo tally.
The Mistfits’ final round-robin game saw them Stearns be perfect again as Emo romped over the Thunder Bay Warriors 5-0.
Curtis had the hat trick in that one to go along with an assist, with Sandelovich and Hannah Firth Oster (two points) adding singles.
The Chiefs looked like world beaters in their opening 9-2 annihilation of the Blades.
RRCC co-captain Shelby Tymkin notched a trio of goals and tacked on a helper to pace the Chiefs’ offence.
Smith picked up a pair of tallies, while Taggart, Shilo Beck, Langford and Kairsti Fraser potted one apiece and Jean supplied two assists.
The Chiefs then pummelled Thunder Bay 5-0.
Tymkin popped in two goals, while Danielle O’Sullivan, Shania White and Katie Sinclair each scored one and McIvor proved impenetrable in net.
It didn’t look like the same Chiefs in their round-robin finale on Sunday, as they couldn’t punch any holes in Rebel Roofers goalie Michelle Galloway in a 2-0 defeat to finish tied with the Blades for second with five points apiece behind Emo in first with six.
But the Chiefs earned the spot in the title game based on a better goals for and against ratio (+10) than the Blades (-4).
The Blades stopped the Rebel Roofers 4-1 in the third-place game.
