by Paul Nixon
The Walkerton Capitals Midget Rep Girls rolled into the final of the Guelph Thunder “BB” Tournament with a perfect 4-0 record over the January 3rd – 5th weekend and faced the Kitchener Lady Rangers. The Capitals had surrendered 1 goal going in and pumped in 13 goals. The final was an exciting and faced paced game that the Capitals came out on the short end 3-2 in overtime.
To get to the finals the Capitals opened
the tournament on Friday against Caledon Coyotes and won 6-0. Rebecca Rier opened the scoring in the first
from Missy Adams and Ashton Nixon scored in the second from Maddy Wright to
lead 2-0 after two periods. The Capitals
ramped up the offence in the third and rattled off four unanswered goals to
send the Coyotes to the woods. Rier, Destiny
Berberich, Joelle Busby, and Haley Fischer supplied the goal scoring. The play makers were Berberich, Wright, Leah
Kittel, and Nixon.
The Capitals faced the hometown Guelph
Thunder on Saturday and dominated from start to finish with a convincing 2-0
victory. The Capitals Julie Thomson found
the net in the second from Joelle Busby and Destiny Berberich. Shortly after in the second, Busby won the
draw and Leah Kittel jammed home the puck to increase the lead to 2-0. Thomson also assisted on the goal. The
Capitals outshot the Thunder 24-4.
Later Saturday evening the Capitals met up
with the Stoney Creek Sabres and kept on rolling and won 3-0. Alyssa Inglis in goal picked up her third shutout
of the tournament for the Capitals. This
game started quickly with Leah Kittlel banging home a rebound to give the girls
a 1-0 lead in the first. Julie Thomson assisted on the goal. In the second, the Capitals worked the puck
around for over a minute on the power play before Thomson in the slot fired
home the second goal from Kittel and Melynda McKenzie. Later in the second
Kittel jumped out of the penalty box and went in on a breakaway. She deked the goalie backhand to forehand and
beat the Sabres goalie like a rented a mule.
The Capitals entered the semi-finals on
Sunday to meet the Mississauga Chiefs.
The Capitals had a little extra motivation before the game when the
Chiefs commented that the Capitals looked like a Local League team and that they
would skate the girls into the ice. Well
the Capitals fed off that chirping and the Chiefs got their eyes opened as the
Capitals put on a clinic and won 2-1.
Leah Kittel carried the hot stick into the
semis and bulged the twine in the second from Rebecca Rier. Janelle Weber took a pass from Melynda
McKenzie and darted up the left side on a rush into the Chiefs end. Weber cut to the net and fired a shot to
stretch the lead to 2-0 for the Capitals.
The Chiefs pulled their goalie and with 16 seconds left in the game and
scored, which spoiled Alyssa Inglis shut out.
In the end the Chiefs looked like a Local League team and just couldn’t
keep up with the much faster Capitals.
The Finals pitted the Capitals against the
Kitchener Lady Rangers. The Capitals
were the better team; however, the Rangers won 3-2 in overtime. The Rangers went up 1-0 late in the first on
a power play. The Capitals continued to
apply the pressure and were rewarded in the second on a power play of their own
when Julie Thomson scored from Leah Kittel and Lauren McLean. The Capitals were still on the power play in
the second when they went up 2-1 on a shot from the point that was redirected
into the left side of the Rangers net.
For some reason the goal was waved off and the explanation provided was
that the puck hit the post. The score
remained tied 1-1 going into the third.
The Capitals carried the play late in the
second and the majority of the third.
Unfortunately the Capitals found themselves shorthanded with less than
two minutes left in the game. Thomson on
a solo effort stole the puck from the Rangers defender in the defensive zone
and deked out the goalie to put the Capitals up 2-1 with 46 seconds left. That lead was short lived as the Capitals
were still shorthanded and the Rangers fired a screened shot from the point
with 16 seconds left to tie it up 2-2.
In overtime the Rangers scored 15 seconds
in when their forward fired a shot from the right wing that alluded
Inglis.
Even with the loss the Capitals enjoyed a
successful weekend with an impressive 4-1 record, 15 goals for, and only 4
goals against. All the girls contributed
to every game and showed the city teams not to mess with the country
girls! - just ask the Chiefs!
The Capitals get another shot at the
Rangers on Sunday, January 13th at 3:45 p.m., in Kitchener.