The Campbell River Midget Hurricanes headed up-Island and stormed through the Doug Bondue Arena in Port Alice on Saturday, taking out the Tri-Port Midget Wild by a score of 5-2.
The Wild were coming off back-to-back road wins over the Cowichan Valley Capitals and the Nanaimo Clippers where forward Bree-Anna Henderson had notched four goals in two games, before running into the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes came out of the dressing room ready to go and made their presence known by controlling possession of the puck right at the start of the first period. Camryn Hockley opened the scoring by knocking in a rebound by the side of the Wild’s net.
The Wild’s Mandy Foldy would answer back less than a minute later, however, taking a beauty of a pass from Mackenzie Murgatroyd. Foldy blasted a hard wrister from the slot past the Hurricanes’ goalie Ashley Hogg, tying the game 1-1.
But the Hurricanes won the puck at the next face-off and came right back down the ice. Tatum Feeney went up top with a wrist shot of her own, sending the puck past the Wild’s goalie Avary Miller’s outstretched glove, putting them back in the lead by one.
The Wild immediately came back down the ice into the Hurricane’s zone, where captain Kerrigan Sharpe found herself with the puck in front of the net, ripping it past Hogg to tie it back up 2-2.
The game was a back-and-forth battle for puck possession from there, with both teams getting numerous chances on each other’s net to try and take the lead.
But with 6:22 left in the first, the Wild took a tripping penalty which cost them big.
The Hurricanes’ Lauren Bull ended up converting on the ensuing power play with a long point shot through traffic to take the lead back 3-2 before the end of the period. Neither team was able to make it on the scoreboard in the second, effectively stalemating each other.
In the third, the Wild knew they were down and came out aggressive, hunting for the tying goal.
But Hogg stood her ground, making a few key saves to keep her team in the lead, until Kayle Majic got the pass and unleashed a slap shot, which bounced off Miller and into the net to make it 4-2 for the Hurricanes.
With 11:38 left in the game, the Wild started to get frustrated and ended up taking a bodychecking penalty.
The Hurricanes capitalized again on another power play, with Sydney Cole shooting the puck past Miller to give them a strong 5-2 lead, which is how the game would end.
The girls head back up-Island for a tournament this weekend, but will be back on home ice Nov. 4 when they welcome Sooke to town. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Rink 2.
With files by Tyson Whitney/North Island Gazette
