Timmins Teams At Ringette Ontario Provincial Championships
Three Timmins Tornadoes competitive teams, U14A, U16A and U19A, carried the TRA colours at the Ringette Ontario Provincials in Mississauga on the weekend of March 16 - 18, 2023.
Congratulations to these teams on their 2022-2023 season and a special congratulations to the U16A Tornadoes on winning the bronze medal !!!
U14A
The U14A Timmins Tornadoes participated in the provincial championships held in Mississauga March 16th to the 18th. The burning questions was do they belong in the top tier of the championships. All year the U14A Tornadoes fought to prove themselves and find consistency in their game. The ultimate decision was to test themselves against the top teams of the province by entering Tier 1 at the provincial championships.
The team understood that there was not going to any easy games and that they would have to fight for every inch of ice during the championship. Their first game was against Forest, a team that was 18-1-1 during their season. Forest was able to dominate the game in the first 10 minutes of the period, but Adèle Plouffe was able to make critical saves to keep the team in the game. When Timmins was able to get out of their zone, they were able to take advantage and score. Hailey Plouffe was able to find the back of the net twice, with goals also coming from Jasmine Bangs and Lily Mackenzie with the help of Mila Champagne and Isabelle Rivard. Ultimately the U14A Tornadoes lost the game 6 to 5.
Their second games were against the eventual gold medalist of the tournament, the West Ottawa Wild. The Tornadoes had played West Ottawa many times this season and knew the relentless pressure the apply and had game planned against it. With the help of stellar goaltending, and a defensive team effort led by Courtney Biedermann, Charlotte Simoneau, Maëlle Durepos, Megan Plouffe and Val Hamilton, Timmins was able to break their press and create opportunities on the other side of the ice. Lily Mackenzie was able to find the back of the net a couple of times, but the Tornadoes still ended up losing 4 to 3 in a nail bitter of a game.
In their third game the U14A Timmins Tornadoes faces City of Ottawa. This game was back and forth. Ottawa score two quick goals in the first and Tornadoes almost found the back of the net with a grade A chance from Addison Lamothe. Unfortunately, she was robbed by a great save from Ottawa’s goaltender. Adèle Plouffe was able to close the door for the rest of the period and Timmins entered the second period trailing by 2 goals. Isabelle Rivard was able to score a quick goal and get the Tornadoes back in the game. Ashlynne McGinn was a force on the ice during this game and demonstrated true heart by creating turnovers and getting offensive chances. Sadly, Timmins was not able to secure the victory and lost the game 5 to 2.
Their fourth game was against a team that the Tornadoes knew well; Sunderland. Both teams had faced each other twice during the season and they were always competitive and intense games. Hailey Plouffe opened score for the Tornadoes with a beautiful tick-tac-toe pass from Isabelle Rivard and Ashlynne McGinn. Sunderland scored three unanswered goals in the first period and led 3 to 1 after the first. In the 2nd period, both teams played a great defensive game and the score remained the same until Hailey Plouffe score with under 2 minutes in the period. Timmins pressured Sunderland hoping to cause a turnover but Sunderland was able to control the ring for the final minute of the game and secure the victory.
In their final game of the tournament Timmins played one of the top U14A teams in the province, the Burlington Blast. This team was 18-0 prior to the Provincial Championships and eventually won the bronze medal of the tournament. Even though the girls knew their tournament was done and that the outcome did not matter, they still demonstrated their competitive spirit by playing to the best of their ability. Burlington scored quickly, but Jasmine Bangs was able to answer back with two goals in the first. At the end of the 1st period Timmins led by a goal. In the second period, Burlington scored quickly to tie the game. Burlington added another goal midway through the second period, but Timmins continued to fight and had many opportunities. Burlington was able to add another goal and the game finished 4 to 2. The Timmins Tornadoes did not make the game easy for the Blast and showed their love for the game by competing until the last second.
The coaching staff could not be prouder of our U14A Timmins Tornadoes. The girls have developed and grown as players. They have been willing to put in countless hours to improve and push themselves as a group to compete against the top teams of the province. The future looks bright for this group of players. Go Tornadoes !!
U16A
The U16 Tornadoes started their provincials strong with a 6-1 win over Paris Thunder. The team had strong goaltending from Christelle Berthier and an explosive offense with Juliette Bourdages-Côté scoring 3 times and Cloe Bélanger-Gallant, Emerly Come and Jana Courchesne getting one each. It was a great game considering it was the girls first game since their last tournament in early February.
The girls took a quick 2-0 lead in their second game against St Marys Snipers with Bourdages-Côté and Courchesne finding the back of the net. St-Mary’s picked it up and scored 3 consecutives goals. The Tornadoes kept pressuring and had many opportunities but only Anika Alarie manage to score to tie the game. Thanks to a strong defensive game, the game ended in a 3-3 tie.
In their third game, Timmins faced the Nepean Ravens, the team that eliminated the Tornadoes from the Nepean tournament in November. The Tornadoes wanted revenge and came out scoring first with Alarie putting a one-timer in the back of the net. The Ravens came back to tie the game, but Courchesne scored to give the Tornadoes a 2-1 lead. With a strong defensive game by Kailtyn Bangs, Talia Rivard, Alisa Duggan and Janelle Lapierre, the Tornadoes captured another win.
The fourth game against GCRA was a tough one for the Tornadoes. Jo-Anne Vane kept the team in the game during a rough first period and Bourdages-Côté, Alarie each scored one. In the second period, Brooke-Lynne McGinn received an amazing pass from Alexyane Plouffe and found the back of the net to give the Tornadoes a 3-3 tie.
With a spot clenched in the semi finals Sunday morning, Timmins faced the only 4-0 team in their division, the West Ottawa Wilds. Even with 2 fast goals from Bourdages-Côté and Alarie, the Wild game back and won the game 6-3.
Timmins played Forest in the semi finals. The Tornadoes had many chances but could not get passed Forest’s goaltender. The team lost 3-0 and moved on to play for the bronze medal against their rivalry, the West Ottawa Wilds. With the first period going back and forth, the Wilds scored the only goal in the period to take a 1-0 lead but the Tornadoes gave it their all in the second and answered back with 3 consecutive goals by Alarie, Courchesne and McGinn. With amazing goalkeeping by Vane and the entire team playing together, the Tornadoes captured the bronze medal to finish 3rd in the province. The coaching staff is extremely proud of how this team came together and played an amazing tournament.
U19A
The 2022-2023 Timmins Tornadoes started the season with many unknowns. But with a lot of hard work, grit and determination the mix of veterans and newcomers managed to become a team strong enough to participate in the top tiers of the 2023 Provincial championship.
Right from the start, the character that allowed this amazing group of athletes to deserve a spot on the top tier was on display. Falling down 4-1 after the first period of their first game against Kitchener, they managed to slowly crawl their way back into the game and finally get ahead with a few minutes left in the game. With this great 5-4 comeback win, the Tornadoes were off to a good start.
The second game of the day was against a familiar foe. The Timmins squad fell behind 2-0 early in the game against City of Ottawa. But as usual they believed in themselves and mounted a comeback, with a goal literally at the Buzzer (0:00 time left on the clock!) of the first period, they tied the game at 2-2. The rest of the game was a hard-fought battle between two very good teams. Unfortunately, City of Ottawa managed to score late in the game and won the contest 4-2.
On Friday, the Tornadoes faced Dorchester. With both teams trading goals, it was anybody’s game, but Timmins was once again trailing their opponents. However, this time, they didn’t wait too long and scored a few unanswered goal to put the game away. With an 8-5 win, The Tornadoes were in good shape.
However, the second game of the day proved to be a very frustrating experience. Facing London, the Timmins squad was confronted with a very physical game which is usually not tolerated in ringette. London simply overpowered the Tornadoes and got away with a 4-1 win. Bruised and battered, the Tornadoes had to regroup for a do or die game on Saturday morning.
To reach the quarter finals, Timmins had to face Guelph, a team that previously beat them during another tournament. The two teams offered the fans one of the most exciting games ever. Both sides gave everything they had and were evenly matched until the buzzer from regular time. An overtime was a fitting end for those two deserving teams. With a laser shot under the cross bar, the Tornadoes finally ended the suspense and won the game 5-4. They were off to the quarter finals!
Once again, City of Ottawa was in their way and, once again, the Tornadoes were down 2-0 early in the game. In this unfortunate but usual situation, the Timmins squad did what they knew best to do, they fought back. And once again, they managed to tie the game at 2 apiece. Unfortunately, City of Ottawa regained control of the game and even with a flurry of shots from a desperate Timmins squad in the dying moments of the game, the ring would just not go in and the Tornadoes fell 3-2 in the quarter finals.
Even though it was a disappointing end to the season, the U19A Tornadoes were a great source of inspiration to anybody who followed them along the way. All season, they kept beating the odds, clawed their way back into seemingly lost games and never gave up. They might not have a medal to show for it but they certainly proved that they had the heart of champions. The coaching staff and the fans are extremely proud of the 2022-2023 U19A Timmins Tornadoes team. We thank you for your hard work and all the excitement.
The coaching staff
