Staff
The Pharmasave Wildcats Midget girls’ hockey team had a good showing at the Kathy Sanders Memorial tournament in Dryden last weekend.
The squad opened play against the Thunder Bay Bears, winning 2-1.
Tressa Galusha opened the scoring for the Wildcats on a pass from Paige Ward, then Nicole Beadle extended the lead in the second when Kimmy Holt sent her in alone on a breakaway.
The Bears got one back on a hard point shot by Skylar Christianson, but that would as close as they got.
Ward nabbed the team’s MVP award.
The Wildcats next faced the host Dryden Eliminators and seven penalties cost them in a tight 4-3 loss.
The game was scoreless until the second when Shawnee Morrisseau scored for the Wildcats on a pass from Janine Webb.
Katrina Wreggitt extended the lead to 2-0 just four minutes later, but Dryden got on a roll with four quick goals to start the third period.
Julie Magill got one of those back for the Wildcats, but Dryden held them off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Beadle earned the team’s MVP award.
The locals next faced JAFT (Kenora) and blanked them 6-0.
Wreggitt opened the scoring in the first with an assist to Ward, but the game stayed close until the third until Wreggitt scored again to ignite the Wildcats’ attack as they pumped in four more in quick succession.
Cassie McLennan added a goal and two assists during the third-period onslaught while Beadle scored twice (once on an assist to Danielle Payne). Magill rounded out the scoring on a breakaway.
Janine Webb was named the team’s MVP.
After finishing second in their pool, the Wildcats advanced right to the semi-finals against the Dryden Bruins.
The game once again saw a scoreless first period, but the Bruins struck quickly for two goals in the second before Beadle replied with the Wildcats’ lone marker to trail by one heading into the third.
The Bruins then broke it open in the final period with two more quick ones en route to the 4-1 victory.
Pharmasave then played the Kenora Predators in the ‘B’ final on Sunday and dropped a hard-fought 5-4 loss in overtime.
Kenora had led 4-1 early in the third (Beadle scored the lone goal in the second), but the Wildcats didn’t roll over and die—getting two quick goals from Galusha and Morrisseau to close the deficit to one.
The Wildcats continued to fight for the tie, and did just that with 28 ticks left on the clock when Beadle blasted a shot off a quick pass from Janel Barker to send the game to overtime.
The comeback was short-lived, however, as Kenora connected for the game-winner just 15 seconds into the extra period to claim the bronze medal.
