With
a handful of exhibition games in their hip pocket, the Grand River Bantam BB Mustangs
headed south to Niagara Falls for their first tournament of the year.
Game #1 – Vaughan Flames
Quick starts are huge at this level and that’s just what the girls had as they opened up the Tourney versus the Flames. Less than two minutes in, Dix lights up the scoreboard to give the Stangs the early 1-0 lead. Despite controlling the majority of the play, Vaughn buried the equalizer with a minute left in the first to tie the score at 1-1. The scoreboard sat dormant until midway through the second. Cue back to back breakaways & mad dangles by Jaime and Kai to give Grand River a 3-1 lead by the end of the second. With the Stampede fore check rolling in the third, Hal drove the net and iced the game with her first goal of the season making it 4-1, the eventual final.
Game #2 – Whitby Wolves
If starting fast was a lesson learned in the first game, it appeared to be learned by Whitby. Back on their heels, Grand River would be trailing 1-0 after the first three minutes. The Stangs spent the first two periods trying to get their feet under them (no more haunted houses) and after 20 minutes it was 2-0 Whitby. A score that could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for some timely saves from Jacobi to keep us within striking distance. Good teams don’t quit and will battle through adversity. First shift into the third, Kai picked up her second of the weekend to pull the Stangs within one. The Stampede started gaining speed in the third and with Jacobi on the bench, Jaime hit twine to tie the game at 2-2, a score which would stand and have the Mustangs undefeated after Friday’s games.
Game #3 – Mississauga Chiefs
Saturday’s game was a big one, win and the Stangs clinch first in their pool and top seed. Once again the girls came out slow and the Chiefs controlled the majority of the play in the Mustangs end. Putting on a clinic, Logan was stellar in goal and the reason the score board was 0-0 after one. Getting a chance to reset in between periods, Dix scored four minutes into the second from a beauty shot on the goal line to put the Stangs up by one. This game was the fastest one that Grand River was in all year and they were equal to the task carrying the 1-0 lead into the third. Being a good team as well, the Chiefs were not going to roll over and with four minutes to go, they scored on a laser shot to make it 1-1. With a spot already clinched for the semis, a win was needed for top seed. With Logan on the bench (sound familiar), the cardiac kids did it again. Burnzie ripped the game winner from the slot with 55 seconds to go to give Grand River the top seed in Pool B and a date with the Cambridge Roadrunners.
Game #4 (semi-final) – Cambridge Roadrunners
After the Mississauga game this one was decidedly slower. After two periods it was 0-0 and the Stangs were having trouble generating offense. With time running down, Cambridge scored with three minutes remaining to pull ahead 1-0. The never say die Mustangs made a last ditch effort for the equalizer with Jacobi on the bench, but it was not to be as an empty net goal with 20 seconds remaining sealed the 2-0 loss. Cambridge would advance to the gold medal game and would win the Bantam BB division.
Despite a tough loss in the semi-final game, this weekend was nothing but positive. The team is much farther ahead than expected at this early part of the season and for those that made the trek to Niagara they were treated to fast paced, exciting hockey. As well, the players (and parents) had a great deal of time to hang out together and get closer as a team. Great weekend ladies!