BMR Express Meteor Girls claim second tournament title, bringing home Pink on the Rink Championship
In game 1 Vs St. Marys Rock both teams battled hard right off the faceoff. The Meteors pulled ahead part way through the first period on a goal from Elyn Hannon. There was no looking back from that as the floodgates were open for the 5-0 victory. Remaining goals were from Reina Nevin, Danica Voros, Ella Sills and of course wouldn't be a tournament without Kinslee Horans signature slapshot, only this time from the hashmarks. Assists went to Voros, Hannon, and Casey Crowley. The team gathered for lunch afterwards to not only celebrate the victory, but also Elyn Hannons "Birthday?"
Game two was against the Stratford Aces. This game had Phoebe Wood and Nevin each recording hat tricks in the 6-0 victory. Assists from Martyna Hartwig and Lilly Terpstra were recorded.
Game three against South Huron Sabres was expected to be a tougher ordeal, and it was. The South Huron goaltender faced many shots from the hungry meteors. Both teams battled hard but it was Wood who netted the first and only goal of the 1-0 game off a nice pass from Leah Sills. It was a hard fought battle with the Meteors losing a player to injury. The victory earned the Meteors a bye to the Semi-finals the next day, but sadly learned they would be without their teammate Nevin for the remainder of the tournament.
In the Semifinals against the North Middlesex stars, The girls were down a player but everyone elevated their games to try to make up for it. They faced a red-hot Stars netminder, who had no intention of letting anything in. Leah Sills scored a well timed opening goal off a hard digging setup from Hartwig. In the final five minutes the Meteors stared down adversity with a four minute penalty called for what would be mostly the remainder of the game, and to add to the adversity, were dealt a two minute penalty and the Stars goalie pulled. The girls battled for all it was worth fighting off a 6 on 3 for almost 2 minutes to hang on to the lead in the 1-0 win. This win secured the path to the finals against the host team South Huron Sabres.
The finals was a high tempo game, neither team wanting to leave without the gold medal. The Sabres goaltender was also red-hot facing an impressive amount of shots from the determined Meteors. It wasn't until the Second period that Ella Sills parked one in the net from Horan and Hartwig. The Meteors pressed on with some excellent work by Callie VanLoon in the corners and out front. The crowd also cheered watching Dana Poppe take the puck end to end for a chance at the insurance goal. It was Horan who netted the final goal in the 2-0 victory off a pass from Wood.
As usual Ally VanBakel played well allowing zero goals across all five games of the tournament. A true testament to her hard work and dedication to the team, but also wouldn't be possible without the Crowley, Hannon, Horan and Poppe in front of her.
Special thanks to coaches and trainers for taking time from their work and personal schedules to be there for our girls.