Jan 26, 2017 | jfinlay | 824 views
MIDGET B GIRLS - SOUTH HURON SABRES INTERNATIONAL SILVER STICK CHAMPIONS TWO YEARS IN A ROW
The South Huron Sabres Midget B Girls Team travelled to Sarnia Jan 20-22 to try and win back to back International Silver Stick titles.
They opened the prestigious tournament with a shaky come from behind win over the Chatham Outlaws. The last time the two teams met the Sabres won convincingly 7-1 in October at the Ancaster Avalanche tourney. This time was different. Chatham outplayed the Sabres in the 1st period taking a 1-0 lead, but the tide turned in the second. The bounces seemed to go the Sabres way in the third and the girls from South Huron escaped with a much needed win to start the repeat quest on the right track. "The girls might have been a little nervous at the start, but managed to work for the bounces as the game progressed", stated assistant coach Larry Lewis. Later in the day the Sabres ran into a stellar goalie from the Clearwater Ice Cats, but found the back of the net twice after peppering a ton of shots on the net minder. Charlie Finlay recorded her first shutout of the event with some fine saves of her own.
The first game Saturday was a huge game as both the Sabres and Norfolk HERicanes were 2-0-0 with first place in their division up for grabs. Our girls played one of their best games of the year smothering the undefeated Norfolk squad winning 2-0. "Our girls knew this game would probably advance us to a semifinal game on Sunday. They played with a lot of energy and team work. ", explained Trainer Deb Hayter. Later that day the Sabres played the tough Mount Brydges Cougars in a meaningless tournament game. Every time these two teams have met over the past two seasons it has meant something, but the Cougars had been eliminated after Norfolk had won earlier leaving Mt Brydges unable to catch them in the round robin standings. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Early Sunday morning game ended up being a Semi Final Rematch between Mount Forest and the Sabres. Earlier this year the two strong teams played in the Stratford Aces tournament with the Rams handing the Sabres their first and what has been their only loss of the season to date. It was a back and forth affair between the two rivals. Both teams were flying around the arena making great plays, back checking hard and making save after save. In the middle frame Lianne Taylor found Mckenna Robinson alone in front of the net and she one timed the puck into an open corner giving the South Huron squad that most important first goal. There was a lot of hockey to be played, but the Sabres held off the Rams and iced the game with an empty netter. "It was a huge win. We enjoyed it for a few minutes, but still knew that game didn't win us the tournament. We had one more tough game against the home town Sarnia Jr Lady Sting", remarked Assistant Coach Brent Windsor.
And tough it was. Sarnia gave everything South Huron could handle. The Sabres fought off every attack the home team forced on them. The defence and goaltender Charlie Finlay stood tall and the Sabres survived. The score was 0-0 going into the 3rd. Halfway through the final stanza Leah Clausius slid a puck to rookie Megan Morrissey and she wristed a shot past the Sting net minder putting the visitors up 1-0. A couple minutes later Clausius again found another rookie and this time Jessica Hartley added some huge insurance with a similar play. Rachel Heywood would seal the Championship with an empty netter and sending the South Huron fan support into a frenzy! "It was a very hard tournament to win with all the great teams that were participating. To do it in back to back years is a great accomplishment. These girls should be very proud of themselves", shouted Manager Joanne Finlay.
This team was a team all weekend and has been a team the whole year. From the late night practices, bumps and bruises, chips off boards in our own end, down a girl, nice passes, beauty goals, unbelievable saves, winning streaks and tourney wins. Everyone has contributed in some way or fashion. If the season was to end today it would be a success! Great job ladies! We hope to make many more memories as playoffs are right around the corner. Good Luck Girls! Go Sabres