The Williams Lake Bantam Female Timberwolves went a perfect 5-0 to capture the gold medal on the weekend at their home tournament.
The T-wolves put on a defensive clinic in Sunday afternoon’s final at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex to shut down Penticton 3-1 in the championship victory.
Up until Sunday’s final, Penticton had proven to be an offensive powerhouse and had been previously unbeaten in the tournament, entering the gold-medal game as the top seed.
“It was a nerve-racking start to the game,” said Timberwolves head coach Steve O’Hara. “We hadn’t played them yet in the tournament, and they finished ahead of us in the round robin by goal average, and it was a battle.”
Williams Lake got on the board first late in the opening frame when Shayne Sutton lit the lamp with 3:55 left to play in the period to give her a team a 1-0 lead.
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The Timberwolves would extend their lead to 2-0 with less than a minute to go in the second when Madigan Riplinger found the twine to give Williams Lake a two-goal cushion heading into the final frame.
Penticton would answer back near the five-minute mark of the third, however, Hannah Chestnut notched the third and final marker for the Timberwolves to put the game out of reach with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Karmyn Fisher picked up the win between the pipes for Williams Lake, and was solid in the victory.
O’Hara, meanwhile, added he was proud of how the team banded together and played this weekend in front of cheering friends and family in the stands at the CMRC.
“It was a roller coaster of a weekend with some ups and downs, but it made us grow even stronger as a team,” he said.
“I was happy seeing the players bring what we practiced to the games, and we were really happy to see the support of friends and family.”
In the final, Williams Lake kept Penticton scrambling out of its own end by sending pucks deep and applying a strong forecheck — something O’Hara said the team worked on extensively last season.
“Last year we worked on strong forechecking,” he said.
“This year we’re really working on playing quick transition hockey, so once we get that puck we’re right back in their end.”
Williams Lake finished its round robin with three wins and no losses with victories over Kamloops, North West District and Fort St. John, but finished in second behind Penticton due to goal average.
They then edged the Fort St. John Predators, 3-2, Sunday morning to advance to the afternoon’s gold-medal game.
O’Hara added he’d like to thank all the parents and volunteers for their work throughout the weekend.
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“It’s a lot of work and time commitment to run a tournament, so thanks to everyone who helped out,” he said.
The event was the first bantam female rep tournament to be held in Williams Lake since 2011.
“We’re very proud of that,” he said.
“The girls worked hard throughout the whole tournament, and they all had good attitudes, which contributed to our success.”
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