Bus trip to Mt. Forest
The Kincardine Atom rep girls boarded the Ross Young bus and made a team road trip to Mount Forest on Wednesday, January 14, to do battle with the Rams. This was their first meeting since since a preseason exhibition game back in October.
Coach Gratto knew we would be in tough as the Rams' season has been dominated by lop-sided wins and very few losses. In particular, number 11 for Mount Forest is leading the league in scoring with 61 goals in 24 games. The coaching staff made sure that the team was aware of the need to contain the hot Mount Forest players while trying to establish our own offensive presence. The Kinucks had 3 periods to find out if they were up to the task.
It didn't take long for the Kinucks to find out what they were in for. The speedy Rams forwards pressured right from the opening face off. Strong play along the boards by Caydence Gibson, helped contain the opposition while the defence pairs of Jorja Scott and Gabby Legge, and Taylor Carney and Dayle Chinnick moved the puck away from the net. Despite close coverage, number 11 found her way onto open ice and broke in on the Kinucks net to put them up 1-0. Macara Brooks faced plenty more shots throughout the period and stopped them all. Offensive pressure was provided by Morgan Talbot, Ela jones, Ella Gratto, Kennedy Urie and Caydence Gibson. Try as they might, the Kinucks forwards were blanked throughout the game.
The game flowed back and forth with strong goaltending by Brooks keeping the game close. But two more goals by the Rams in the second put the Kincardine girls in a tough spot. Scott and Legge worked hard to help the offence as they lead a few rushes at the net but to no avail. The Rams would add 2 more to finish the game 5-0.
Reflecting on the loss, the coaching staff were pleased with the physical effort the girls turned in. They knew they were in for a tough game and the girls responded. It definitely gave the team something to build on with two important games coming up against Walkerton on the weekend.