Nov 19, 2017 | skru | 922 views
Hericanes Bantam Reps win Gold in Stratford!!
The Bantam Reps took home the Gold in Startford this weekend beating the Lambeth Lancers in the final with a 3-2 victory in a Shoot out.
It was a bit of a crazy week-end for the Bantam Reps who went 3-1-2 in their six games, but in the end, got the result they were looking for and became the 2017 Stratford Aces Tournament Bantam B Champions!!!
Game #1
Things started off slow with a 0-0 tie against a very good team from Belmont on Friday morning. Belmont heavily out shot the Hericanes and goalie Katie Lee was huge yet again with the shutout! It was not pretty but they will take the tie in this one!
Game #2
Friday evening seen the Hericanes play the Goulbourn Rockets. The Hericanes out shot and out played Goulbourne for the most part but could not "buy one" and they ended up losing 1-0. Quickly, the Hericanes but them self in a tough spot early in the tourney.
Game #3
Saturday was a new day and the Hericanes played the Guelph Gryphons in the morning. The Hericanes finally scored and that seemed to energize the team and turn things around and they won 2-0.
1st goal scored by Macoda Pitch assisted by Mackenna Krulicki and Bella Kuchma
2nd goalcscored by Brooklyn Reid assisted by Mackenna Krulicki and Lauren Skanes. Katie Lee with another Shutout and things starting to move in the right direction.
Game #4
Saturday afternoon's game against Lambeth Lancers started off very well. Hericanes grabbed an early 2-0 lead. Lambeth scored to make 2-1 and quickly Hericanes took the 2 goal lead back making it 3-1 and it looked liked things were on cruise control. But we all know that in hockey or any sport it's never over till its over and with 2 minutes left in the third, Lambeth scored to make it 3-2 and then a minute later Lambeth scored again and tied it up and that was how it finished. It was a tough pill to swallow and felt like a loss but with the tie, the Hericanes advanced to the Semifinals barely edging out Mount Forest by 1 goal in "goals for and against" earning the 4th and final spot which set up a rematch between Goulbourne who finished 1st in the preliminary round.
1st goal scored by Marlee Fraser assisted by Claire Higgins and Bella Davidson
2nd goal scored by Sydney Petzke assisted by Marlee Fraser and Katya Yusim
3rd goal scored by Sydney Petzke assisted by Brooklyn Reid and Avery Haid
Game #5 - Semifinals
The Hericanes came out flying and did not look back in this one. The Hericanes scored early and then continued to build on their lead. They capitalized on their chances and Goulbourne's frustrations were starting to come out with a few penalties and not getting anything going on the score board . It was a much better out come for the Hericanes as they came out with a convincing 4-1 victory. Off to the finals they go to play Lambeth again who beat Belmont in the other semifinal.
1st goal scored by Brooklyn Reid assisted by Mackenna Krulicki
2nd goal scored by Marlee Fraser assisted by Paige Tucker and Hannah Kieswetter
3rd goal scored by Brooklyn Reid assisted by Sydney Petzke and Mackenna Krulicki
4th goal scored by Paige Tucker assisted by Marlee Fraser
Game #6 - The final
The stage was set for the final- Hericanes vs Lambeth. Another rematch that the Hericanes who were looking to make better on, from their epic collapse from game #4 which seen them give up 2 goals in the last 2 minutes to surrender a tie.
Things started off well for the Hericanes who scored early in the first to grab a 1-0 lead. Marlee Fraser gave Paige Tucker a nice pass in the slot, who then hammerd a wrist shot that was too hard for the goalie to handle and things were looking good. The Hericanes continued to play well and scored again in the second with Brooklyn Reid getting the puck to Mackenna Krulicki who got a quick shot away and scored up high to get a 2-0 lead for the Hericanes. All was going well until 2:53 of the third when Lambeth got a few quick shots and final converted on one and it was 2-1. Would this be like, game 4, an epic collapse again or could the Hericanes hang on to the lead. Well, with 11.9 seconds to play and their goalie out for the extra attacker, the Hericanes could not get the puck out and Lambeth scored to tie it up at 2-2. "Wow, here we go again" was probably what most of the Hericane players, coaches and parents were thinking! Another late collapse, could the Hericanes get passed this and win this thing?
Sudden Victory Overtime
The 5 on 5, 5 minute over time was intense and action packed but did not result in any scoring. So now came the shoot-out to determine the winner. Each team picks 3 shooters. The team who scores the most of the 3 shooters would be the winner!
The Shoot-out
Since the Hericanes were the visiting team, they were first to shoot. Marlee Fraser was picked to shoot first. Marlee came down the ice, faked to go backhand and made a shot to the glove side and the goalie could not handle it and it found its way in the net. A huge start to the shoot out and it put pressure on Lambeth right away.
Lambeth's first shooter came down the ice made a quick shot but Katie Lee was not fooled at all and got her stick out and made the save. This was huge!
Hericanes 2nd shooter was Mackenna Krulicki. Mackenna came down the ice, made a little move to go back hand, but then came back to her forehand and with the goalie moved over she flipped the puck in the net and scored to make it 2-0 and the pressure was really on Lambeth now. Lambeth's 2nd shooter needed to score or the game was over.
Lambeth's 2nd shooter came down the ice, faked a shot, then went to her back hand and the puck hit the post, hit Hericane goalie Katie's arm and Katie was able to cover the puck in front of the goal line, the Referee then motioned "no goal" and with this, the Hericanes were victorious.
It was a huge sigh of relief for the Hericanes, as they had the game in their grasp but almost let it slip away. With a few more gray hairs for the coaches and parents and an increase in blood pressure, all in all it was worth it. The Lambeth team showed a huge amount of hard work, determination and class. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again.
Well done Hericanes for getting the job done and not buckling under the pressure!!!! Each girl contributed on the score sheet and worked extremely hard and was a huge part of the team's Championship weekend!
Congrats to the Peewee Rep Hericanes team who also won and were Peewee B Stratford Aces Tournament Champions! A great weekend for Hericane Hockey!
Next game for the Bantam Reps, Wednesday Nov 22 VS Ayr. See you there!