The air was thick with tension as the Canadian Tire Kincardine Kinucks Atom Girls rep team hit the ice against the West-Grey Girls rep team. The first four minutes saw no action at all and fans in the stands started getting concerned. There was a collective sigh of relief when Georgia Tanner knocked the puck free from the opposition at four minutes into the first period, skated it away from the pack following her and lifted it over the goalie to send it flying into the twine. Score was 1-0 for Kincardine.
Gaining momentum, Claire Hunsburger grabbed the puck and with some fancy skating and puck handling, managed to slip it past the goalie. The girls were showing their true colours: passing well, digging deep and fighting hard. Despite a mouth injury that involved stitches earlier in the day (unrelated to hockey!), Chloe Pagé dug in front of the net and sent the puck in. Kincardine was now 3-0. In the last minute of the first period, a slow blow of the refs whistle saw the puck unintentionally freed in front of Marcelle Platt and was knocked in by the opposition. The buzzer sounded and the score board read 3-1 for Kincardine.
The second period saw plenty of action with no scoring on either side. Aysha Machan demonstrated her excellent skating skills by getting in the middle of the action and interrupting the best-laid plans of the West-Grey girls. Joanne Page and Emma Dixon remain a force to be reckoned with on defence, holding the blue line well and occasionally letting a well-aimed puck fly towards the goalie. Heidi Allen and Jessica Anderson are also very well matched on defence, complementing each other’s strengths and superior skating skills, driving the puck towards the net again and again.
The third period opened with a beautiful pass from Tanner to Machan who took the puck up the ice and sent it in between the pipes. Shortly after there was a series of shots on goalie Marcelle Platt who stood firm in the face of adversity and managed to keep the score at 4-1. The Kincardine girls were not done yet. Chloe Pagé shot the puck to Tanner who again sent it home. Brooklyn MacArthur, who continued to dig deep and work hard, gained control of the puck, sent it up to Hunsburger who then lifted it over the goalie. Another fabulous pass from Machan to Tanner saw the score rise to 7-1. West-Grey managed to fight back one more time and knocked the puck in; however, Kincardine Atom girls held strong and the game ended with a five goal lead at 7-2 for Kincardine.