Staff
“Piper the Sniper” found the bull’s-eye when it mattered most.
Fort Frances Dynamite ace scorer Piper Miller was in on all three of her team’s goals in a 3-1 victory over the Fort Frances Black Panthers in the final of the Fort Frances Girls’/Women’s Hockey Association’s Atom division tournament Sunday at the Ice For Kids Arena.
Miller, who was dubbed with the nickname by her adoring mom, Nicole, in a Facebook post after the game, lit the lamp twice in the first period.
Just 30 seconds into the contest, she cut across the ice to the top of the right circle and unleashed a rocket that beat Panthers’ goalie Madison Bliss.
Miller was on target again about five minutes later with a hard shot from inside the right circle that deflected off a Panther defender’s stick and crossed up Bliss.
Then in the latter half of the second period, Miller blasted the puck wide from the right wing.
But the shot turned into an unexpected assist when the puck ricocheted off the end boards and right back out front to the waiting stick of Hayden Allam, who neatly tucked the puck into the open side of the net.
Courtney McCoy put the Panthers on the board with a beautiful backhander in the third period that found the top right corner of the Dynamite net.
It was the only goal netminder Harper Gunderson allowed the whole tournament as the Dynamite outscored their foes 23-1 overall.
But Gunderson lived up to her own nickname–“The Wall”–and blocked every other Panthers’ chance to preserve the victory.
The Dynamite got off to a strong start with an 8-0 whitewashing of the Emo Express.
Miller led the way with four goals while Eva Gerstner (two), Marissa Kenny, and Allam also scored.
The Dynamite then got goals from Kenny, Kassidy Gurniak, Miller, and Gerstner in a 4-0 victory over the Lake of the Woods Blazers.
Miller notched a hat trick, and Emma Bodnarchuk added a single, to close out the round-robin with a 4-0 decision against the Lake of the Woods Devils.
The Panthers, meanwhile, tied the Devils 1-1 in their opener, with Julia Guertin netting their lone goal.
She then had a pair of goals in a 3-0 shutout of the Dryden Rampage, with Lara Allen getting the other goal as Bliss earned the shutout.
McCoy scored twice, with Allen netting the other, in a 3-1 topping of the Blazers.
The Panthers’ offence was unleashed to its full capacity in their round-robin closer against Emo in a 10-0 runaway victory.
Allen led the onslaught with a hat trick while McCoy, Guertin, and Kiera Fairnington each had two goals apiece.
Logan McPherson was the other goal scorer while Bliss earned the shutout.
Emo went winless in four games at the event.
The Express were also topped 5-3 by the Lake of the Woods Devils, with Tatum Martin connecting for all three of her team’s markers.
Emo also fell 6-0 to the Lake of the Woods Blazers.
The Memorial Sports Centre will be rocking even more intensely this coming weekend as the FFGWHA holds tournaments in the PeeWee, Bantam, and Midget divisions at both arenas.
Action begins Friday and wraps up Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Emo-Devlin-Barwick Minor Hockey Association will holds its Atom tournament from Friday through Sunday at the Emo Arena.
