The Spry Site Supervision Atom A Bearcats are golden once again. The Bearcats won the Lower Lakes Female Hockey Championship over the weekend at York University.
Game one pitted the Bearcats versus the Western Division Finalist Stratford Aces. Maddy "Mad Dog" Geen opened the scoring from Rowynn "Titan" Cochrane and Jerika "GENO" Spry. Stratford answered back with a goal that bounced in off a Bearcat skate in the third period, but Spry deposited a rocket into the Aces net with less than 4 minutes remaining to seal the win. 2-1 Bearcats. Lacey "Jelly" Clement was stellar in net for Belleville.
Game two was versus a familiar foe, the Aurora Panthers, runners-up to the Bearcats in the Eastern Division. Peyton "Cash" Cormier scored early for the Bearcats to give them the lead, but Aurora stormed back going just under the bar to tie the game. The teams would battle the rest of the way, but nothing would be solved and the game would end in a tie, 1-1. Renaud was fantastic in net for Belleville.
It's not called the toughest tournament to win for nothing. Game 3 would be against the Central Division Champion North Halton Twisters who only lost 2 games all season. The Twisters pressured the Bearcats for the first period, but Belleville's incredible team play deflected every rush to the outside of the rink. Spry opened the scoring for Belleville in the second period from Mykelti "Pottsy" Potts and Dylan "Hawk" Trickey. North Halton continued to press, but it would be Cormier scoring from Annaka "Jedi" Hoover and
Tsyora'seshtha "Iced-T" Brant to give the Bearcats the 2-0 lead and the win. Clement was in the net for the shutout.
Game 4 didn't get any easier with the Niagara Rapids, the #1 ranked team in the province as the opponent. It took less than a minute for Tori "TK" Neuman to score for Belleville. Assists went to Alex "Mountain" Dewar and Jenna "Train" Nieman. 3 minutes later it was Neuman again with an absolute rocket to increase the lead to 2-0. Assists to Taylor "Woody" Wood and Ainsley "Boogeyman" Phillips. Niagara showed why they are ranked #1, battling back in the second to score, but Cormier would score twice in the third on assists from Claire "Rocket" Rathwell, Spry, and Neuman. Final score Belleville 4 - Niagara 1. This clinched a berth in the Gold Medal game for the Bearcats. Brylie "Trapper" Renaud was brilliant in net.
Game 5 could not affect Belleville's standings, but they were against tough competition in the Western Division Champion, Wilmot Wolverines. Wilmot did not lose a single game in the regular season. The teams battled through two scoreless periods before Wilmot found a way through the stalwart Bearcat defense to score with just 6 minutes left in the game. Belleville roared back, but couldn't find a goal. Final score: Wilmot 1 vs Belleville 0. Renaud was absolutely incredible in net for the Bearcats.
The Wilmot victory guaranteed that there would be a rematch in the finals.
The championship game could not have been more exciting. The teams once again played through nearly two scoreless periods with the Bearcats dominating play; not allowing a shot on net until the 6 minute mark of the second period. It would be Spry scoring with less than a minute left in the second off a set play from Cormier and Alex "Mountain" Dewar to give the lead to Belleville. The Bearcats pressured the Wolverines into their own end in the third period, controlling the play and taking the championship 1-0. Clement was in net for the shutout.
The championship was the sixth gold medal that the Bearcats have won and their 50th victory of the season.