On Saturday, January 19, the Canadian Tire Kincardine Atom girls rep team drove to Paisley to play their rivals, the AEMHA Ice Dogs.
It was fresh in their minds the last time they had played this team in December and the loss of that previous game was still stinging. With determination, the girls made a commitment to themselves to win by a five goal lead. The result of a win of that magnitude would mean that die-hard Habs fan coach Manny Pagé would wear a Leafs jersey during their next practice. Motivation was high for the girls to pull off their personal goal.
Right from the start, the Kincardine girls demonstrated that they meant business. They kept the puck in their offensive zone, not giving up until Claire Hunsburger grabbed the puck and shot towards the net. It bounced off the goalie’s pads and Brooklyn MacArthur was ready and waiting for that rebound. In it went and the girls were at a one goal lead at five minutes into the first period. There was plenty of action for the rest of the first period with lots of shots on net by forwards Kennedy Farrell, Brooklyn MacArthur and Georgia Tanner.
In the second period, Aysha Machan, Chloe Pagé and Georgia Tanner were peppering the goalie with shots until Tanner finally shot on the goalie then picked up her own rebound. The scoreboard now read 2-0 for Kincardine. Kincardine goalie Marcelle Platt finally saw some action and was successful in keeping the puck out of the net. Hunsburger picked up the puck, skated it down the ice and shot on net. It was a close miss with the ringing of the puck hitting the pipe reverberating through the arena. From the face-off deep in our offensive zone, Machan gained control of the puck. With a flurry of activity, the puck shot from Machan to Tanner with Chole Pagé sending it in. The second period ended with a score of 3-0 for Kincardine.
In the last period, the girls kept the pressure on, with defensive players Heidi Allen paired with Jessica Anderson and Emma Dixon paired with Joanne Page keeping the puck from leaving our offensive zone. Joanne Page let the puck fly from the blue line towards the net. With cat-like reflexes, Brooklyn MacArthur deflected it straight into the net. Another goal for Kincardine. With so many shots on net, it is surprising that the game ended with a score of only 4-0 for Kincardine. One can only surmise that the AEMHA goalie must have earned hardest worker for their team for stopping so many Kincardine shots. Although the girls missed their personal goal by one, they played hard, dug deep and deserve the reward of watching their beloved coach wear a Leafs jersey.