The Walkerton Larsen Bantam Girls team travelled to Guelph to compete in the Thunderstorm Tournament on Jan 6-8th. Walkerton played great hockey going 5-0 for the weekend to capture the Gold medal.
Their first opponent was Grand
River. Jasmine Thompson opened the scoring in the first period on a pass from
Leah Kittel. Joelle Busby made it 2-0 in the 3rd with helpers from
Thompson and Kittel. Larsen’s finished the game off on a tally from Kittel
assisted by Melynda McKenzie. Walkerton faced off against Stoney Creek in game
two. The girls were determined and battled hard to earn a convincing 5-0 win.
Thompson, Monica Fritz, Julie Thomson(2) and Busby scored the goals. Nicole
Osborne, Kittel, Ashley Ernst, Morgan Wright and Fritz earned the assists. The
last game of the round robin saw an old rival, Kincardine take over the
opponent’s bench. Busby opened the scoring in the second period with help from
Thomson and Maddy Wright. Kittel fired the second and final goal of the game
assisted by Thomson. Cassidy Becker earned her 3rd shutout of the
tournament. Becker has been outstanding this year for Walkerton as this was
also her 13th straight shutout including league and exhibition
play!!! An amazing stat to say the least. The team’s commitment to defensive
play has been second to none.
With a record of 3-0, the Capitals
earned first place in Pool A. Next up, the second place team in Pool B, namely
Mount Forest. The Rams opened the scoring in the first period to end the
shutout streak. Walkerton was unfazed by the streak ending and scored the next
three goals by Thomson, Busby and Kittel. Helpers went to Kittel, Thompson and
Thomson. Mount Forest fought back in the 3rd to net one more but it
wouldn’t be enough as Walkerton took the victory.
With gold on the line, Kincardine
would be the opponent once again. Walkerton would start the scoring with Kittel
bending the twine from Thomson and Busby. Kincardine fired back with one of
their own. Hard work and determination by Jasmine Thompson would prevail as she
fired the winner into the top corner to give Walkerton the 2-1 victory. The
assist went to McKenzie.
Walkerton has had an excellent
season so far sporting a fantastic record of 22-0-3. The girl’s hard work ethic
and consistent effort has paid off immensely. Team members include goalie
Cassidy Becker, defensemen Morgan Wright, Taya Schipprack, Melynda McKenzie and
Dallas Fischer, forwards Ashley Ernst, Monica Fritz, Leah Kittel, Jasmine
Thompson, Nicole Osborne, Julie Thomson, Maddy Wright and Joelle Busby.
The girls are looking
forward to the International Silver Stick Tournament in February and the OWHA
and Lower Lakes playoffs as well.