WHAT A WEEKEND . . . WHAT A YEAR
These amazing young ladies and very dedicated bench staff, have worked tirelessly for the past 6 months to reach their goal of making it to the Provincial Championships. If you had asked anyone last October if they thought it was likely or even possible, the answer probably would have been "NO".
Well, they proved us all wrong!
They didn't just make it to Provincials ... they did it in style!
The girls finished 1st in our regional playdowns to qualify in March, and then went on to earn a 3-0-0 record this weekend in round-robin to finish 1st in their pool with 14 GF / 2 GA.
Game 1 - 11:45am Friday vs Lambeth Lancers 
3 - 0 WIN
After falling 2-1 to the Lancers at the Silver Stick Tournament back in February, this one was personal!
The girls came out strong and it was a very even battle.
Ashlynn Stephenson was right on her game, not letting anything by her, and the rest of the team managed a goal each period.
Emily Meuser struck first with a shot from high in the slot, on a beauty pass from
Brooklyn Mole at 8:01 in the 1st.
Tristin Brown buried the 2nd goal high in the net, assisted by
Emily at 4:02 in the 2nd ... and
Jamie Gilchrist stole the puck away from the Lancers on a 6-on-5 and skated it all the way down and safely placed it in the empty net at 1:24 in the 3rd.
Game 2 - 6:30pm Friday vs Clarence Rockland Lightning 
3 - 2 WIN
This one could have gone either way. With excellent goal tending at either end, the 1st 12 minutes went by scoreless. At 9:09 in the 2nd, the Lightning forced a turnover in the neutral zone, sailed down and scored short-handed, and it took a full period before we were able to answer back.
Tristin Brown flew out of the penalty box, helped battle for the puck and cleared our zone. She skated down, cut in to the net and fired the puck far side at 10:10 in the 3rd.
A few minutes later,
Tristin kicked the puck ahead of her and the Lightning's D, raced to the other end with them on her heals and let it go high into the net again for the go-ahead goal at 6:09.
Defenseman
Lindsay Elliot skated the puck down, and got it over to
Jade Gilchrist who charged at the net, took a shot and put in her own rebound at 2:59.
The Lightning sent out an extra attacker for the man advantage at a faceoff in our end. They were successful at sneaking a wrap around goal in at 1:53, but our girls didn't give them another opportunity to pull their goalie by keeping the puck tied up in their end until the buzzer sounded.
Game 3 - 3:00pm Saturday vs Bancroft Jets 
8 - 0 WIN
The Jets were also 2-0-0 going into this one, so the girls were ready for the challenge. They took control right away and in the first shift,
Carly Juby banked the puck off the boards to
Jade. She sent it across the ice to
Tristin, who skated straight down and scored at 11:08.
While 4-on-4 at a faceoff in the Jets end,
Aubrey Urbshott centred the puck and
Reese Wilkins backhanded it over the goalie's shoulder for her 1st goal of the game.
Before the end of the period,
Aubrey sent a perfect pass to
Reese, who was ready with a one-timer at 2:32.
Reese started off the 2nd period with a shot from the side boards that deflected off the goalie's skate and into the net to complete her hat-trick at 11:50, assisted by
Grace Scott and
Sarah Madill.
Almost like she couldn't 'not' score,
Reese shot an arc from the point that dropped right in the net at 6:46 (
for her 31st goal of the season).
Just 8 seconds later,
Tristin sent a backhand shot top corner for her 2nd of the game (
and her 26th goal of the season), assisted by
Jamie at 6:38.
Brooklyn picked up a pass in the slot from
Grace, and finished off this crazy period with a rocket to the back of the net at 1:15.
The lone goal of the 3rd period came from
Morgan Moran's shot from the point that made it through traffic and trickled into the net at 7:06, assisted by
Reese.
The REBELS finished 1st in Pool D and would face the 2nd place team in Pool A in the Quarter-Finals.
After arriving for our game at 6pm to find the 4:30pm Midget BB game still on the ice in their 3rd OT period, the girls patiently watched and waited for it to end so they could actually get into their dressing room. After the 4th OT ended and the Zamboni came out, the girls tried to stay focused with some fresh air and meditation with coach Brad outside on the lawn in the sunshine.
QUARTER-FINAL - 7:30pm (which turned into 8:45pm) vs Sault Ste. Marie Wildcats 
1 - 0 Loss
In some confusion at our net, the Wildcats were able to get the puck over the goal line just 59 seconds into the game. The girls fought hard for that tying goal for 3 full periods and out shot their opponents, but the Wildcat goalie and her lucky goal posts would not let us in. The last ping of the post came about 10 seconds before the final buzzer, and sadly that is how it would end.
The REBELS were devastated and eliminated from competition.
After some consoling, they realized what they had actually accomplished this year and that they should be VERY proud of themselves.
The girls have been very lucky to have such an excellent bench staff this season.
The experience and knowledge that these 4 coaches brought to the team was priceless.
This is the 6th straight year that head coach
Brad Moran has taken his team to Provincials, and the 3rd year for coach
Tim Gilchrist and
Jeff Wilkins.
New to TCDMHA this year is coach
Victoria Kirkconnell. The girls loved having her out there with them this season, and we hope she will continue with our association!
Our skilled and compassionate trainer
Lisa Elliot has also dedicated her time at every practice and game. She is the first to arrive and the last to leave as she guards the girls' dressing room, tends to injuries and tears, hydrates, medicates and cheers them on from the bench.
Our 'Jersey Girls'
Michelle Juby and
Sandra Meuser dragged around this huge number of jerseys all season and kept our girls looking and smelling great!
Every family member on our team volunteered their time to man the door, keep score or work the 'terrifying' time clock at our home games.
None of this can happen without a full team effort, and everything you have done is greatly appreciated!
Finally, thank you to
Cathy Kivell and
Vonnie Crawford for answering all my dumb questions and making me look like I knew what I was doing on this job, and to Michelle for backing me up when I needed help and organizing these very generous, and very cool REBELS gifts. I will be enjoying the off season in style!
It was a pleasure to be your team manager this season ... thanks for the memories!
BANTAM 'C' TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS 2016-17 SEASON
32 - 9 - 5 RECORD . . . 122 GF / 39 GA . . . 18 SHUT-OUTS
CHAMPIONS of the Mount Forest Rams Classic Hockey Tournament
CHAMPIONS of the WOAA Maroon Division
PROVINCIAL QUARTER-FINALISTS ( 3 - 1 - 0, 14 GF and 3 GA )