Oilgard Bantam Girls Excel in Bantam A Silver Stick
The Bantam Girls Rep team exceeded all expectations this past weekend competing in the Bantam A International Silver Stick in Aurora. After getting bumped up to Bantam BB and thereafter denied access to league playoffs, the team was just looking to get some competitive games in before the Provincial Championships in April.
Even though short-handed for the weekend and nursing more than one nagging injury, this plucky group of girls raised a few eyebrows and surprised more than one Bantam A team looking for an easy win. In their first game of the tournament, the girls shocked the Ottawa Ice 2-1 with goals from Jessica Satosek and Cassidy Colhoun and helpers going to Colhoun, Laura Mangotich, Vanessa Hodgins and Mikhayla Bowes. In their second game on the first day, the girls ran out of gas while not used to playing full 1-1/2 hour games and lost to Stoney Creek 3-1. Colhoun had the only marker with assists going to Maddie Duncan and goaltender Morgan Baker. Needing a win or a tie on Saturday to advance to the quarter-finals, the girls pulled out a 1-1 tie with Clearview. Hailey Allen scored a beauty top shelf goal with A’s going to Victoria Krulicki and Lauren Jolley while Baker stone-walled the Ice-Kats until the tying goal with 3 minutes left in the 3
rd period. The Oilgard girls’ quarter-final game was against the home-town Aurora Panthers after only a couple of hours rest. The girls rallied all game with many players like Jorie Elliot, Ashley Boyd and Dakota Smith being asked to play in positions they were not used to playing. In the end, the short-handed girls were just too exhausted to muster a comeback and eventually fell to the Panthers (who were also recently re-categorized - from Bantam A to AA). Congratulations girls, you should be proud to have competed at this level and helped answer the question of more than a few tournament fans – “Where is Kincardine anyways
Written by Rob Duncan
