Peaches Lingerie female midget Vees captured the Fire on Ice tournament with a 1-0 victory against Kelowna.
After losing to Kelowna 3-1 in the round robin, Vees assistant coach Dean Garrett described the final as a “nail biter.”
What he liked about their win was their play as a team. Their passing was excellent and it was their best effort all year.
“They really dug down,” said Garrett.
Mckenzie Ricard netted the game winner on a scrambled play.
Following the slow start that included tying Kamloops 1-1, Garrett said the players improved each game.
“We had a good win against Meadow Ridge (2-0) in semifinal,” he said.
Winning the tournament gave the Vees confidence. Something they needed as they have endured a lot of losing to boys teams. Garrett said it’s been a tough go.
The team also received a boost from goalie Sylvia Barnett, who played two periods as she returned from brain surgery.
“Her first game she did pretty well,” said Garrett. “It was good for the team. They rallied around that.”
Ayesha Barlas, the Vees other goalie, finished with nine periods of shutout hockey after the Kamloops tie.
Penticton Collision Fix Auto atom team finished second. Coach Dave Acheson said his team played pretty well. With the coaches still gauging the players’ development, they learned during the weekend which positions the players are successful in.
“We had some personal bests for some girls,” he said. “We work hard all year for these tournaments and it’s like a mini Stanley Cup for them.”
In goal for the Vees was Madison Van Ryswk, who was solid in four of the five games. Acheson also noted that other players stepped up. In the championship game against the Williams Lake Dangerous Divas, the Vees were challenged by a bigger team.
“They got the jump and we couldn’t close the gap,” said Acheson of their 4-0 loss. “It was good game.”
The Vees almost achieved their goal of trying to win the tournament. However, Acheson said the main one was to have fun while gaining experience.
The peewee female Canadian Tire No. 2 team finished third. They went 3-0 in round robin then lost 4-0 to the Kelowna Crushers. Maggie Robinson earned MVP honours. The peewee No. 1 team placed fifth.
