Sault ringette squad good as gold at Waterloo tournament

NEWS RELEASE
SAULT ICE HAWKS U14A
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The girls did it again!

A new year, new tournament and new opponents weren’t enough to slow down the U14A Sault Ice Hawks as they are coming home with another gold medal. 

The team based out of the Sault Ringette Club travelled to Waterloo on the weekend to take part in the Waterloo Winterfest Tournament which became aptly named as a snowstorm rolled through the area during the weekend as well. 

The girls hit the ice on Friday with their first matchup against the Dorchester Dragons. This game was a sloppy affair as both teams struggled with penalties.

The Ice Hawks were able to score three goals in just over a minute of play at the end of the first period opening up a 5-0 lead heading into the second. They were able to hold on and pick up the 6-1 victory in their tournament opener.

Their afternoon contest saw them face off against the host Waterloo Wildfire. The Sault got off to a hot start scoring four goals in the first half of the first period and taking a commanding 5-1 lead into the second. The girls didn’t let up scoring another five goals in the second period and securing a 10-2 win.

The Waterloo goalie kept their team in the game the best she could as the Ice Hawks threw 39 shots at her.

Heading into Saturday action with a 2-0 record chances for the semifinals were high as long as they could pick up another point or two. The Sault’s first game saw them take on the West Ottawa Wild.

This was a battle of two teams playing a similar style and featured a lot of back and forth action. The Ice Hawks cracked the scoring open with a breakaway goal two minutes into the game. West Ottawa was able to tie it up late in the period on the power play but the Ice Hawks responded two minutes later to take a 2-1 lead into the second.

The Wild once again were able to score on the power play evening the score early in the second. The goalies for both teams locked the net down and the game finished in a tie.

The afternoon game had the Ice Hawks take on the Cambridge Turbos. The Sault grabbed two goals in the first period and followed that up with three more in the second before Cambridge scored two late. Final score was 5-2 with the Ice Hawks able to lock up the top seed for the semifinals with a round robin record of 3-0-1.

Championship Sunday saw the Sault team face some adversity off the ice. To start their semifinal game was delayed two hours due to games played before them and ice conditions. When the teams finally hit the ice it didn’t take too long for both teams to find the scoreboard.

The Ice Hawks scored first with Waterloo responding just 13 seconds later. The Sault was then able to score two goals in an eight-second span, building a 3-1 lead and taking a 4-2 score  into the second period.

The Ice Hawks remained relentless in this game firing a total of 48 shots at the Waterloo goalie and adding three goals in the second period to win the game 7-2.

As they were leaving the ice the Sault team was informed that the championship game had moved rinks and the schedule start time also changed. The Sault would be heading into a rematch against West Ottawa who would be looking for revenge and also had a longer rest period.

Hard work put in at practice paid off with conditioning heading into the finals as the Sault was able to jump out to a quick 1-0 lead. West Ottawa tied it up midway through the period before the Sault once again scored two quick goals to take a 3-1 lead into the final frame.

A handful of big saves from the Sault goalie turned the tide of the game and the Ice Hawks put in three more quick goals. The girls didn’t let up and a complete team effort secured the 8-2 win and their third gold medal on the season.

The U14A Ice Hawks also want to give a huge shout out to their sister club the U12A Ice Hawks who also had an awesome tournament and came home with a silver medal.

The U14A Sault Ice Hawks are comprised of Brooklyn Adams, Kylie Beland, Erika Bernardo, Maelle Brown, Matthea Brown, Mikayla Farelli, Jessica Fasanello, Cameron Galizia, Avery Gauthier, Maisie LaBerge, Alex Lepore, Sophie Marcellus, Reese O’Neil and Leah Vaughan. The Ice Hawks are supported by Chelsea Clingen (head coach), Steve Marcellus, Curt O’Neil, Gannon Vaughan (assistant coaches), Alyssa Paquin (apprentice coach), Brigitte Vaughan (trainer), and Tara Gauthier (manager) as well as many parents, siblings and family members.

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