Did everyone feel the force of the Hurricane this weekend?
Well maybe not everyone, but the Bantam girls hockey team from Nanaimo certainly did. The Campbell River Hurricane and Nanaimo faced off at Strathcona Gardens this past Saturday at 3:45 p.m. for the season opener of the VIHA Bantam Girls League.
The Nanaimo team was a big, strong team with many second year players on it but the young Campbell River girls rose to the challenge.
The first period was a battle of the goalies as both teams played a physical game with lots of action at both ends of the ice. It wasn’t until late in the first period when Campbell River netted the first goal of the game with some hard work from behind the net by Kylie Scammell who found the stick of Rebecca Mason to put the Hurricane up by one.
The second period was much the same, neither team wanting let up. This resulted in several penalties for both the home team and the visitors. Jadylin Spooner came up big for the Hurricanes, making some spectacular saves as the team was forced to play short handed. Late in the second the Campbell River girls found the back of the net after a long shift, this time it was Cassidy Bellavance setting up the hard working Scammell.
The defensive efforts of Lisa Lloyd, Miaya Cramb, Alyssa Palmer and Carrissa Jochimski held the Nanaimo team to another scoreless period.
The third period brought out a very frustrated Nanaimo team who just couldn’t seem to score despite their best efforts. Just two minutes into the third period Haley Hunter hammered a slap shot from the blue line that beat a screened Nanaimo goalie. The game would end 3-0 with Spooner earning the shut out. Coach Dennis Bellavance said the game was a real team effort and the girls dug deep to find a way to win.
The Hurricane be playing next in Victoria on Sunday November 4 at Westhills Arena and will be playing in a tournament in Sooke on the following weekend.
