Now that they have a team they can call their own, the Emo Esso PeeWee girls’ hockey squad has discovered the whole is greater than the sum of their parts.
The players had been scattered among various Fort Frances teams over the years. But this past off-season, the wheels were set in motion to give them the chance to finally play out of their own hometown.
Those wheels are now rolling in fourth gear, as witnessed by Emo Esso winning its first tournament as a group Nov. 21-23 in Kenora after posting a 4-1 record.
The girls were tripped up in their opener 5-4 by Kenora Green. Lauren Krukoski netted a hat trick in a losing cause while Kailey Curtis got their other goal.
But Emo stormed back to blank Dryden 5-0 in their second game. Taylor Meyers collected a hat trick in that one while Krukoski scored the other two.
Then in their final preliminary round match, Emo Esso held off the Thunder Bay Stars 4-1. Meyers struck twice for the locals, with Krukoski and Jessie Baker adding singles.
The semi-finals pitted Emo in a rematch against Kenora Green—only this time the local squad skated away with a 4-1 victory. Meyers notched a pair to lead the way while Nicole Beadle and Carlee Bosma added singles.
A hard-fought championship final against Pineview resulted in a heart-pounding 4-3 win for Emo Esso. Krukoski, Bosma, Baker, and Meyers (who led the team with eight goals in the tournament), supplied the offence.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
