Terrace’s Bantam Female Reps continued their streak of success earlier this month when they travelled to Vernon for a weekend tournament and took the top spot.
They started the tournament falling to the Richmond Ravens Friday, Nov. 2 after a hard fought game that saw them down by two within the first 10 minutes.
“Our team finally got the bus legs out by the end of the first period with Caitlyn Ray getting our one and only goal in the second period,” said coach Mario Desjardins.
Terrace outshot Richmond 27-22, but Richmond wouldn’t budge, with the final score being 2-1 for the Ravens.
Next, the team faced off against the well-coached Kootenay, winning 2-1 despite being outshot 40-32.
“Our goalie, Meghan Pritchett, played her best game for our team at the most important time of the tournament,” said Desjardins, noting that they needed this win to have any chance at the finals.
In their final round robin game, they went up against Kamloops. After a close first 30 minutes with Terrace leading 2-1, Terrace turned up the heat and scored six unanswered goals in the final half and taking Kamloops 8-1 in the end.
And thanks to Kootenay beating Richmond in their final matchup, Terrace headed to the finals against the undefeated host, the Vernon Lakers.
The final game was close for the first two periods, with Terrace leading 2-1.
“But again the girls found an extra gear in their game,” said Desjardins. Terrace scored three unanswered goals, winning 5-1, thanks in part to a hat trick by Marissa Nichol.
Strong goaltending by Kelsey Roberts, who turned away 23 shots, also contributed to the win, he said.
The win was a big team effort, he said, with all of the girls pulling their weight and contributing in different ways.
But the team has an unusual practice schedule—being that there isn’t one. Desjardins says they don’t practise during the week, but they do play games against some of the teams here in town, like the Peewee Rep team.
“We have some of the top Female Bantam players in the province and we play a system that no team has been able to adjust to yet,” he said.
This is the team’s second gold medal victory in as many tournaments, and this weekend the girls will travel to Kamloops to see if they can make it three. They’ll be playing against some of the top ranked teams in the province, like the number one North Shore Winter Club and the number three ranked Surrey Falcons in their first two games.