Emo Belles win ringette gold–again

The Emo Belle Bandits took gold for the third time after winning a tournament on home ice last weekend.
Atikokan came second, followed by Dryden in third place and Rainy River fourth.
Unfortunately, the Emo Tween Bandits could only muster a fourth-place showing in their division, which was won by Kenora-Keewatin.
Dryden took second, with Rainy River third and Atikokan fifth behind Emo.
The Belle Bandits, coached by Lisa Barker and Jim Gill, scored five unanswered goals in the second half to dump Atikokan 10-4 in the final.
Trista Barker paced Emo with three goals while Tea Vahamaki and Amy Flatt each netted a pair. Dolly Teeple, Tara Lloyd, and Stacey Angus added singles.
Jessie Ridler (two), Erica Manns, and Rachel White replied for Atikokan.
The Bandits opened action by dumping Rainy River 14-3 although the score was just 5-3 at the half. But once again, Emo had a strong second half–this time exploding for nine goals to cruise to victory.
Stacey Angus led the way with four goals (two in each half). Barker added a hat trick while Vahamaki and Lloyd both scored a pair. Shelley James, Jody Faragher, and Amanda Galusha all netted singles.
Shannon Hagerty got all three goals for Rainy River in the first half.
Against Dryden, the Bandits grabbed a 2-1 lead in the first half on goals by Dolly Teeple and Vahamaki.
Dryden fought back and tied the score in the second half on Brooke Skene’s second goal of the game. But Emo went ahead for good when Barker scored with two minutes on the clock, then iced the win on Vahamaki’s second goal with 16 seconds to play.
Emo led 4-2 in the first half in their first matchup against Atikokan but the visitors stormed back to outscore the Bandits 5-3 in the second half to knot the game at 7-7.
Lloyd and Angus each scored three goals for Emo, with Vahamaki netting the other one. Cristin Happy paced Atikokan with a hat trick while Rachel White and Marina Morelli each scored a pair.
< *c>Tweens struggle
Meanwhile, the Emo Tweens, coached by James O’Sullivan and Anne Bob, played well throughout the tournament but they could not break through like their older counterparts did.
Playing against Rainy River in their first game, Keshia Brigham snapped a 3-3 deadlock with just over three minutes to play to give the visitors the one-goal win.
Stephanie Wright had a hat trick for Rainy River while Kathryn Goodman notched all three of Emo’s goals.
Then facing a fired up Kenora-Keewatin squad, Emo came out on the short end of an 8-2 count. Lexi Cameron led her team with five tallies while Ashley Goodridge, Laralee Cameron, and Danielle Cooke each scored once.
Sarah Barton got both goals for Emo.
Emo next was blanked 4-0 by Dryden on goals by Nicole Gamble, Jen Harrison, Keri Elyk, and Kasey Haw. But the local Tweens turned things around against Atikokan with a 5-2 victory.
Emo grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first half on goals by Barton, Nikki Baker, and two from Danielle O’Sullivan. Sarah O’Sullivan rifled home their lone goal in the second half.
Kelsey Zacharias scored twice for the visitors.
In other news, the Emo Bunnies played two exhibition games for fun last weekend. The youngsters, future players for the Tweens and Belles, enjoyed themselves and deserve an honourable mention for their effort.