Gold for Sault Ice Hawks
The Under 12 Sault Ice Hawks of the Sault Ringette Club recently returned from the Ajax Pickering Tournament with the gold medal crown. It marked the second straight tournament championship for an Ice Hawks team that has won 10 straight games to begin the 2022-2023 season.
• The Ice Hawks kicked off the recent tournament facing the Waterloo Fire but it was the Sault team who got off to the hot start scoring 35 seconds into the game. The girls wouldn’t look back and any pre-tournament jitters quickly evaporated as they skated to a 7-1 win. Their evening match-up saw them take on the Barrie Blast who might quickly become their biggest rival this season. The two teams clashed earlier this year in Sudbury with the Ice Hawks winning both games. Once again the Ice Hawks started quick scoring just nine seconds into the game but Barrie fought back. The two teams traded goals back and forth throughout the first period with the Sault taking a 6-5 lead into the second. The Sault’s team play and skating eventually wore the Barrie team down and they came away with the 10-7 victory.
• Next day action saw the Ice Hawks take on the Markham Bears with Sault’s team play, speed, and size icing the Bears 13-0. Then came a game against the Nepean Ravens that would decide who would finish first in round robin play. After a hard fought first period the Ice Hawks took a 2-0 lead into the second. As has become a trend the Sault’s consistent pressure would wear the Ravens down with the Ice Hawks taking the 7-0 victory and the bye to the championship game.
• The Ice Hawks wouldn’t know who their opponent would be until after the semi-final between Barrie and Waterloo which the Blast ended up winning 8-7. The girls from the Sault knew Barrie would be looking for payback for their earlier loss and that they would be coming at them strong. Strong may have even been an understatement as Barrie rocketed off to a 2-0 lead just 34 seconds into the game. This was only the second time the Sault team trailed this tournament and only the first time they’ve been behind in any game this season by more than one goal. The Ice Hawks regrouped and came back strong by scoring five unanswered goals and having the first period end with a 6-3 score. Barrie continued to claw back at the lead getting the game to 6-5 with just over five minutes remaining and then 7-6 with 2:25 left on the clock. The Sault girls held strong, scoring two more goals in the final two minutes to take the 9-6 win.
The U12A Sault Ice Hawks are comprised of Brooklyn Adams, Erika Bernardo, Maelle Brown, Mikayla Farelli, Emma Farenzena, Jessica Fasanello, Avery Fierro-Wood, Cameron Galizia, Alyvia Hull, Makensy Jarrell, Arianna Nowitski, Gabriella Nowitski, Reese O’Neil, Mya Sloss, Sarah Sonoc and Leah Vaughan. On this tournament they were supported by Chelsea Clingen (head coach), Gabrielle Baril, Brad Nowitski, Curt O’Neil, Gannon Vaughan (assistant coaches), Matt Jarrell (skating coach), Brigitte Vaughan (trainer), and Tammy Bernardo (manager.)