U12A Fights Hard In Guelph
The Timmins U12 Tornadoes participated in the Guelph Ringette Association Tournament this past weekend.
Timmins started the tournament off in a game against Dorchester. Dorchester came out strong scoring 3 un-answered goals in the beginning of the first period. Brianna Rathbone was the first for Timmins to score assisted by Piper Dzijacky. Scotia Arthur was the next to rally the team with her own goal assisted by Ayla Lamothe. Tornadoes then were able to even the score with 31 seconds left in the first with another goal from Scotia Arthur assisted by Spencer Malette and Ayla Lamothe. Dorchester was quick to answer with only 4 seconds left, taking us into the second period down by 1. Brianna Rathbone scored unassisted 2 minutes into the second bringing the score to 4-4. Tornadoes were then energized, and Piper Dzijacky scored for Timmins assisted by Olivia Vandal and Eriana Everard. Goalie Hailey Johnson was able to stop all shots fired by Durchester until 1 lucky rebound shot sneaked past her bringing the game to a tie with 1 minute left to play. Both teams fought hard, but the game ended in a tie of 5-5.
Game two was against Guelph. Tornadoes came out strong and set the pace for the game with an early goal from Olivia Vandal, assisted by Brianna Rathbone Brianna was quick to follow with a goal of her own assisted by Olivia Young and Oliva Robertson. Leighla Belair scored next for Timmins assisted by Olivia Roberston and Olivia Young. Goalie Hailey Johnson stood tall in net stopping all attempts from Guelph until one power play goal scored with 1:35 left in the first. Scotia Arthur answered for the Tornadoes 3 minutes into the second, assisted by Spencer Malette. Spencer then scored her first goal of the tournament assisted by Alya Lamothe and Scotia Arthur. Leighla Belair fought hard for her second goal of the game with 5 minutes left, assisted by Olivia Young. Guelph was able to get 1 final goal with 24 seconds in the game. Tornadoes were able to keep possession after the whistle and Piper Dzijacky scored with 5 seconds left! She was assisted by Olivia Young and Scotia Arthur. Game was a 7-2 finish for Timmins.
Game 3 was an early morning game against London. This was a rough and tough game for the Tornadoes. London came out hard in the first period scoring 1, then 2 power play goals. Timmins was unable to answer any in the first. The girls had been down before in this tournament, and they were not to be discouraged. Brianna Rathbone was first to rally the team with an unassisted goal 30 seconds into the second period. Scotia Arthur was quick to follow with her own goal assisted by Ayla Lamothe less then a minute later. Scotia then answered again with another goal unassisted. Goalie Hailey Johnson was able to keep London at bay for the first half of the second until a penalty cost the team the tie. London was then rallied and scored two more goals within 2 minutes before taking a costly penalty for them, Brianna Rathbone was able to score on the power play assisted by Olivia Vandal. Scotia Arthur scored again on another power play, assisted by Ayla Lamothe bringing the score to 6-5 for London. London came back and scored one final time. Tornadoes fought hard once again and Oliva Vandal scored Timmins final goal unassisted with 47 seconds left in the game. Timmins tried to gain possession to tie it up but ultimately the game ended with a final score of 7-6 for London.
Game 4 was an afternoon game against Oshawa. Olivia Robertson started the scoring off with an unassisted short handed goal. Oshawa was quick to answer, scoring on the power play 10 seconds later. They scored again and Olivia Vandal answered for the Tornadoes with a goal assisted by Brianna Rathbone to tie the game. Oshawa were able to score once more in the first with 1:27 left to go. Tornadoes were able to regroup and come back strong in the second. Olivia Robertson started us off again with a goal assisted by Spencer Malette. Brianna Rathbone was next to score for Timmins, assisted by Olivia Vandal. Oshawa tried their hardest, but goalie Hailey Johnson was determined and would not let any rings past her in the second. Leighla Belair scored next assisted by Olivia Robertson and Olivia Young. Ayla Lamothe was Timmins final goal scorer of the game assisted by Scotia Arthur and Olivia Symes. That finished the game with a final score for of 6-3 for Timmins.
Semifinals:
The U12A Tornadoes made it past the round robin and to the semifinals against Sault St Marie. This team was tough and came into the semifinals undefeated this far in the tournament. This was not the first time these teams faced each other this season. The Tornadoes were hoping for redemption, but the Sault goalie stopped all attempts from Timmins and Sault were able to score twice in the first period. The Sault come out in the second period hard and Timmins defense had a hard time keeping them away. They scored two more goals in the first half of the second. Brianna Rathbone was hoping to rally the team and scored two back to back goals, first assisted by Leighla Belair and the second assisted by Olivia Symes. An untimely penalty cost the Tornadoes another goal and they were unable to get it back. The game finished 5-2 for Sault.
The coaching staff are SO proud of these girls and how they have come together as a team this year. Each tournament they have gotten better. They were able to fight back when they were down and would not be discouraged. We can’t wait to see how they do at Regionals here in Timmins.
