Six ringette teams from Quesnel took to the ice at Twin Arenas last weekend in a friendly tournament against teams from Prince George, Houston and Vernon.
The U19 team had a perfect weekend as they posted two wins against Houston and two against Prince George.
Friday night, the U19 team had a slow start against their long-time rivals from Prince George.
After letting Prince George control the game for 10 minutes, the Quesnel U19 team stepped up and played as a team, assistant coach Melinda Moorhouse said.
With minutes left in the first frame, Quesnel scored two unanswered goals to take a 5-3 lead.
The Quesnel team kicked into high gear in the second frame as they collected six more goals while allowing Prince George just three goals, to take the game 11-6.
“The team decided they didn’t want to lose against their long-time rivals,” Moorhouse said of the better team play that led to the Quesnel victory.
The two teams squared off again Saturday and this time the Quesnel U19 team had a stronger start, but found themselves tied 2-2 after the first period.
The second period belonged to Quesnel as the U19 team spent much of the period on the offence, often keeping Prince George hemmed in for several counts of the 30-second shot clock.
The nicest goal of the period came with Quesnel short-handed, as Emily McMartin dipsy-doodled her way through the Prince George squad to roof a shot from in close to score her fourth goal of the game that gave Quesnel a 4-3 lead.
Emily Phillips closed out the scoring for Quesnel with a backhand shot from the slot with just a few minutes left to play.
“Our team formation was much tighter and the quick passes and receiving of the ring improved greatly,” Moorhouse said of the team’s play against Prince George.
The U19 team also fared well against Houston, posting 10-3 and 9-2 wins.
“Our passing in the final game against Houston was one of the best passing games of the season,” Moorhouse said was the message coaches Don McMartin and Judy Young delivered to the team after the game.
The U14 team finished the weekend with a record of 2-1 against their counterparts from Prince George, earning 9-7 and 10-9 wins, before taking a 5-3 loss to finish the weekend.
The two U12 teams finished the weekend with a combined record of 3-4 as they faced tough competition.
The U12 Q-Tax team went 3-1, with 10-9 and 14-7 wins against Prince George, a 13-7 win against Houston and a 9-2 loss against the team from Vernon.
The U12 Rasmussen team took it on the chin with 13-7 and 12-5 losses against Prince George and a 9-2 loss against Vernon.
“They’re a very strong team,” Wayne Moorhouse said of the Vernon squad.
The U10 Quesnel ringette team finished the weekend with a record of 2-2 thanks to a couple of wins, 5-1 and 4-3 against Prince George and a an 11-8 loss to Houston and 9-2 loss to Prince George.
Finally, the U9 Bunny team collect 11-4 and 8-1 wins over Prince George and took a 9-4 loss against Houston.
The next tournament action will see the U19 and U14 teams make their annual trek to Kelowna to play in the Sweetheart Tournament, Feb. 9 – 12.
