by Eric Welsh
Black Press
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The third female hockey game of the day was the BC Games’ most dramatic, with Thompson-Okanagan out-lasting Vancouver-Squamish 3-2.
The eventual winners trailed 1-0 after one period on a goal by Maegan Beres. Kiara Machry and Hayley Tubbs drew the assists, sending Thompson-Okanagan to the dressing room with some talking to do.
“We weren’t working too well as a team, playing a little too scrambly,” said Thompson-Okanagan forward Makenna Fitzgerald.
They fixed it up nicely in the middle frame, scoring three unanswered goals.
Fitzgerald got them started.
“We went down the side, made a few nice passes and someone (defenceman Makenna Hoffman) shot it and I got the rebound,” the Kamloops native recalled. “We calmed things down and made a lot better passes in the second period.”
Vernon natives Emily Clarke and Juli Gilowski also tallied, sending Thompson-Okanagan to the final frame with a 3-1 lead.
That stood up until the final minute. Pressing hard, Vancouver-Squamish blueliner Carmen Wong scored with 27 seconds left.
“We tried to not get too worked up about it,” Fitzgerald said. “We wanted to stick with it and get it back down to their end.”
They did so successfully, hemming Vancouver-Squamish in as the final seconds ticked off, giving Fitzgerald and company the win.
“We communicated well and moved the puck well,” she said. “Our power play and breakout need some work heading into the next game.”
They play Fraser River-Delta tomorrow morning at 9:15 a.m.
