HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-04-16, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015.
Mark McIntyre
Hearing Instrument Specialist
25 Years
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Sports
The Saugeen Maitland Midget AA
Lightning came within a game of
heading to Red Deer next week to
participate in the Esso Cup as
Ontario’s representative in the
Canadian Midget Girls Hockey
Championships. The Bolts claimed
the silver medal as second-place
finishers at the Ontario Provincial
Championships in the Midget AA
division, the pinacle for women’s
hockey for 15- 16- and 17-year-olds.
The Lightning started their
tournament last Thursday evening
with a 3-0 win over their division
rivals, the Guelph Junior Gryphons.
The Lightning were dominant
throughout, but three goals were
scored within a five-minute window
of the second period. Lexi Smith
opened the scoring with helpers
from Taylor MacDonald and Brooke
Schroeder. Madison Davey then
scored from Kelsey Dixon and
Natalie Nixon. Smith then closed out
the scoring with assists granted to
MacDonald and Cassidy Mason.
Rebecca Ropp was strong in net,
stopping all Guelph shots to earn the
shutout.
The Bolts faced the Etobicoke
Dolphins Friday afternoon in their
second game of the tournament and
came up on the short end of a 2-1
score, despite outshooting their
opponents nearly 2-1. Neve VanPelt
scored the only goal for the
Lightning, with helpers going to
Avery Reeves and Maddie Duncan.
In their third game of the round-
robin, the Lightning desperately
needed a win to advance further in
the tournament. The Bolts showed
their true colours, posting a 2-1
victory over the Thunder Bay
Queens to claim first in their pool
and a spot in the playoff round.
Hannah Herman scored from the
point on a power-play from defense
partner Erin Near and Smith. Mason
bulged the twine shortly thereafter
with assists to Jocelyn Ballantyne
and Smith.
Saturday afternoon the Lightning
were pitted against the Ottawa Ice in
the first elimination game of the
tournament playoff. The Bolts made
short work of the Ice, defeating the
Ottawa District league champions 3-
1. Kaitlyn Chagnon was solid in net,
only getting beaten once late in the
game on an Ottawa powerplay. Katie
Heath opened the scoring in the first
period with assists from line-mates
VanPelt and Reeves. Smith scored
her third of the tournament early in
the third period with helpers from
Ballantyne and Near. MacDonald
closed out the scoring for the
Lightning, potting a pretty goal on
the powerplay from Dixon and
Davey.
The win meant the Lightning
would face the Oakville Hornets in
the quarterfinals with a chance to
avenge their loss to the Hornets at
the Sarnia Silver Stick final in
February. In a great team effort and
a nail-biter for the fans, the Bolts
prevailed with a 2-1 win in the first
period of overtime. Avery Reeves
scored the first two of her clutch
goals on the weekend, the first in the
second period to tie the game from
Heath and Duncan and her second in
the first overtime period on a long
lead pass from MacDonald. Ropp
stood on her head in the Lightning
net, giving her team a chance to
complete the comeback in overtime.
If the Lightning fans had any
fingernails left from Saturday, they
were gone on Sunday as the Bolts
were involved in a marathon of a
game versus the Sault Ste. Marie
Wildcats in the semi-finals. VanPelt
opened the scoring in the first period
from Near and Herman, but the
Wildcats took the lead and held it
until late in the third. Reeves scored
with just 45 seconds left in
regulation, the last goal until eight
overtime periods later when Reeves
scored again to give the Lightning
the win and a berth in the gold medal
game. VanPelt, Heath and Near
assisted on the two Reeves’ goals.
Chagnon made some key saves in
the overtime periods to give the
Lightning a chance for the win.
Unfortunately, the 11 periods of
hockey and only two hours off
before the tournament final took a
toll on the girls. The relatively well-
rested Sudbury Wolves handed the
Bolts a 4-1 loss in the tournament
final to claim the right to represent
Ontario in Red Deer at the National
Midget Girls Championships.
MacDonald scored the only goal for
the Lightning in the final.
This group of girls represented
Mid-Western Ontario with great
talent and hard work and were
known as a team that no one wanted
to face in an elimination game. This
year’s team consisted of goaltenders
Rebecca Ropp (Milverton) and
Kaitlyn Chagnon (Clinton).
Defensemen Maddie Duncan
(Kincardine), Taylor MacDonald
(Mount Forest), Hannah Herman
(Ayton), Erin Near (New Hamburg),
Brooke Schroeder (Bayfield) and
Natalie Nixon (Durham). Forwards
Neve VanPelt (Mitchell), Lexi Smith
(Brussels), Avery Reeves (Mount
Forest), Mel Nolan (Dublin), Kelsey
Dixon (Stratford), Katie Heath
(Elora), Madison Davey (Mitchell),
Cassidy Mason (Owen Sound) and
Jocelyn Ballantyne (Stratford).
The region is proud to call them
our daughters and representatives of
the future of girls’ hockey in our
area.
Midget AA Lightning win silver medal at provincials
Silver lining
The Midget AA Saugeen Maitland Lightning came up big last week at the provincial
championships, but also came up just short, as they finished second and just short of
representing Ontario at the Canadian championships. Back row, from left: Trainer Bonnie
Ropp, Neve VanPelt, Katie Heath, Natalie Nixon, Assistant Coach Scott Biesenthal, Jocelyn
Ballantyne, Brooke Schroeder, Coach Joe Chaffe, Mel Nolan, Madison Davey, Avery Reeves,
Erin Near, Hannah Herman, Kelsey Dixon and Assistant Coach Jessica Chaffe. Front row,
from left: Rebecca Ropp, Cassidy Mason, Lexi Smith, Maddie Duncan, Taylor MacDonald and
Kaitlyn Chagnon. (Photo submitted)
273 Hamilton St., Blyth • 519-523-4590
www.blytheastsidedance.com
Blyth East Side Dance
Learn the Rumba
Huron County
4-H Leaders Association
is hosting an
Electronics Recycling Depot
& Clothing Drive
For information about accepted items
contact Darrell Bergsma at 519-441-2103
Saturday, April 18
8 am - 3 pm
Depot at Londesboro Feed Mill
Walton Raceway named for
prestigious funding program
With last week’s provincial
announcement of the Celebrate
Ontario program recipients for 2015,
Walton Raceway is very excited to
be named as the recipient of funding
to continue being a valued partner
driving Ontario’s West Coast as a
tourism destination.
“It is an honour for our Walton
Raceway’s - Parts Canada TransCan
Event to be named alongside events
such as The Honda Indy Toronto,
The Manulife PGA Classic, Boots
and Hearts and The Rogers Cup,”
said Mark Perrin and Brett Lee co-
owners of Walton Raceway. “The
support of programs like Celebrate
Ontario are what allow us to
continue our Friday night concert
and continue growing, with new
initiatives such as the Canadian
Outdoor, Motorcycle and Power
Sports Expo and flat track racing.”
Walton Raceway is looking
forward to getting the 2015 season
underway as May 16 is a Walton
Raceway mudbog, following the
motocross practice on May 30-31.
For more information about
The 2015 Parts Canada TransCan
24th Anniversary” Canadian
Motocross Grand National
Championship (GNC) or COMP
Expo at Walton Raceway, visit
wwwpartscanadatranscan.ca or
www.waltonraceway.ca
It’s like shopping with the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s dietitians, who
evaluate every participating product based on Canada’s Food Guide.
www.healthcheck.org