Joey Payeur
On the same day her team skated to a 4-2 win in Game 1 of the NorWOSSA girls’ hockey final, Siobhan Mackintosh was unconscious and then hospitalized.
Through sheer will, she made sure her voice would be heard loud and clear 72 hours later as part of the “Roar for Four.”
Mackintosh went from patient to powerhouse–scoring twice and adding two assists Monday night in Kenora as the Muskies swept the best-of-three final with a 7-2 romp over the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints.
It marked the fourth-straight league title for the black-and-gold and another trip to OFSAA ‘A/AA’ girls’ championship, which will be held again in Stratford from March 21-24.
“I didn’t have high expectations for myself before the game; just try and go out there and do my best,” said Mackintosh, who was whisked to the emergency room Friday after a combination of the ‘flu and a respiratory infection led to her passing out.
“You just come out and try and concentrate and push through,” she reasoned.
Mackintosh let everyone know she was feeling much better just 20 seconds into Fort High’s first power play of the game Monday night.
Avery Cates leaned into a blast from the point, which Saints’ goalie Sarah From turned aside right to Mackintosh standing just above the crease to the left of the net, who aimed and fired the puck stick-side on From at 5:19.
In an almost carbon copy at 5:48 of the third, Mackintosh found herself all alone again about two feet to the right of where she was for her first goal to gather a rebound of Janelle Kaemingh’s shot and once again parked it behind From to make it 6-2.
“I knew their goalie was a little weak on that side,” noted Mackintosh, who praised the rest of a squad that went 14-1 during the regular season and then went 4-0 in the playoffs.
“Right at the beginning of the year, you realize your team seemed ready to go,” she remarked.
“The seniors showed lots of leadership, all our rookies were ready to lend support, and the goaltending was incredible.
“Everyone showed up to play and give 100 percent,” Mackintosh stressed.
“This group has the most heart of any team I’ve played on,” she added. “We’re so much closer this year.”
Count assistant captain Lauren Hamilton among those glad for Mackintosh’s return.
“Siobhan always adds a lot of intensity whether she is on the bench or on the ice,” noted Hamilton, who had an assist Monday night.
“To get her back in the lineup really helped us out.”
Despite the victory in Game 1, a big part of the game was the lack of composure shown by the Muskies’ top line of Annalise (CC) Hayes, Kaemingh, and Hamilton.
Hayes had two goals in that game, to go along with singles by Kelsey Langtry and Jenna Clendenning.
But she also took three penalties (one coincidental) while Kaemingh had two and Hamilton one to supply the Saints with all five of their power-play chances.
That storyline flipped 180 degrees in Game 2.
Chelsea Turcotte, who left Game 1 with a suspected collarbone injury following a head-on collision with a hard-charging Hayes, went after Hayes–and any other Muskie within reach–during a scrum early in the first period to garner the penalty that led to Mackintosh’s first goal.
Then after Shania White tied the game at 8:20 with a quick shot from the slot, From took issue with Kaemingh trying to screen her in front and eventually shoved the Muskies’ captain to the ice to draw another minor.
“Coming into Game 2, the three of us had a chat with the coaches, who made us see the team needed us out on the ice and not in the penalty box,” Hamilton noted.
“We had to concentrate on being there and helping the team.”
Following Clendenning’s go-ahead goal at 5:31 of the second on a five-hole laser after Taylor Croswell made a great play to keep the puck in at the Saints’ line, the high-scoring trio did exactly that.
On another power play just 1:13 later, Hayes walked around the Saints’ defence and got a shot off that gave Kaemingh a ready-made rebound to tap in for a 3-1 lead.
The one-two punch narrative replayed itself later in the period.
Mackintosh headmanned the puck to Clendenning, who dished it to Hayes in full flight at centre ice.
Fort High’s leading scorer stormed wide around the Saints’ defence and zipped a backhander between From’s pads at 12:22.
Then just 57 seconds later, Kaemingh and Sara Jackson set up Reece McQuaker, who wheeled to the middle of the ice and whistled a 15-footer from the slot that again found a crevice in From’s pads.
Katie Marcine poked in a cross-ice pass from Ally Turcotte 57 seconds into the third, eight seconds after Cates went to the box for interference, to cut the lead to 5-2.
But Mackintosh poured cold water on any fire still left in the Saints with her second tally.
Hayes, who played her own game of “Keep Away” with St. Thomas Aquinas all night, closed out the scoring at 10:54 with another showcase of puck possession.
Carrying the puck in on the left wing, Hayes went around the net and outmaneuvered two Saints’ defenders to cut to the net, then waited for From to commit before putting the puck over the downed netminder.
Kamryn Sandelovich, one of two Grade 9 rookies on the Muskies along with forward Jill Calder, earned the win after veteran Sydney Beck got the victory in Game 1.
“The coaches told them [before the game], ‘It’s up to you; it’s your time to show what you can really do,'” noted head coach Todd Hamilton.
“The best thing tonight is all 18 players who played contributed and [Beck] was ready to go if need be,” he added.
“You can’t ask for anything more than that. That’s success to me.”
One of those was Lillie MacKinnon, who, along with Alex Gartzke and Emily Kaun, comprised the rookies on the Muskies’ blueline corps this season.
“Our defence group has improved so well. We really support each other,” said MacKinnon.
“We had a saying all year that teamwork makes the dream work.
“Our goal all season was to be in this game and win it,” she added.
“I don’t think there’s words to describe this feeling,” MacKinnon admitted.
“You and your team bond all season, and now we get the chance to represent our league down there.”
Familiarity with scaling the NorWOSSA mountain didn’t diminish Lauren Hamilton’s thrill that accompanied her third-straight title.
“I was just as nervous before tonight [Monday] as I was before the first one,” chuckled the veteran forward, who, along with fellow Grade 12s Kaemingh, Jackson, Jess Steele, and Abby Plourde, likely played her last NorWOSSA game barring a “victory lap” by any of them next season.
“The feelings never go away.”
Last year’s 12th-place finish in Stratford was, from the Muskies’ perspective, a disappointment to the team and one the players have every intention of putting behind them this time around.
“I met with fellow coaches Dave Kaemingh and Tressa Galusha before the season, and we agreed we’re not going to OFSAA just for a trip this year,” Todd Hamilton vowed.
“With this group, I feel we can compete and get into the medal round.”
MacKinnon backed up her coach’s optimism.
“I think we can accomplish anything if we put our mind to it and work together as a team,” she reasoned.
The seedings and schedules for OFSAA will be announced in the upcoming days.
