Mar 04, 2015 | Steve Fogarty | 516 views
Provincial Playdowns Are in the Books
Playing their fourth game in as many nights, the Mustangs skated out to Bolton to take on the Caledon Coyotes in the 6th and final Provincial qualifying game. Although the Girls of Grand River already clinched first place the night before, Caledon was still in the hunt and this game had a lot of meaning for them.
In stark contrast to the Orangeville game the night before, Caledon clogged up the lanes and open ice was hard to come by. Although not always getting through, the girls continued working their passing game in an attempt to stretch out the ice. Both tenders were equal to the task at hand as the first period ended at 0-0 with shots knotted up at 5 per side.
The passing game finally paid off in the second as Frannie fed a nice pass from the office out to Tegan who scored the game's first goal to put the visitors up by 1-0.
The 1-0 score was still on the board when the "Kerry Fraser" show started. Convinced everyone in the stands was there to watch him, the hometown referee called two penalties against the Mustangs with 2:27 left to play. One of which was a travesty of a call against our assistant captain, who simply expressed concern over the penalty that was called. In fact, I believe the exact wording used was: "Excuse me kind sir, I would like to inquire as to the infraction you have just called on my fellow Mustang teammate". Either way, Super Ref gave her an unsportsmanlike and it was a 6-3 power play as Caledon pulled their goalie. Despite the sea of white jerseys that were on the ice, the girls locked it down and held on to win 1-0.
After the six games of provincial play, the Mustangs finished with an impressive record of 5-0-1 and will be playing in the Provincials in April. The girls now have a well earned two days off before Jadyn's birthday and playing in the 34th Walter Gretzky Tournament in Brantford.