The North Bay Andre Purcell Team U18AA Junior Lakers competed in the 43rd Annual Leaside Wildcats March Matchup tournament over the weekend.
They came home with gold beating the host Leaside team 2-1 in the final on Sunday.
The Junior Lakers strong play in the round robin games resulted in a 3-1 record with the only loss being a heartbreaker 1-0 to the host team Leaside Wildcats with the game winning goal being scored with 1.4 seconds remaining in the game. The round robin record set the Junior Lakers up for a semifinal game Sunday morning against the Niagara Rapids.
In the semifinals, the Junior Lakers controlled the play for most of the first period with first year forward, Jade White scoring the first goal, assisted by alternate captain, Taylor Yeo near the end of the period to put the Junior Lakers up 1-0. Niagara had a push during the second period outshooting North Bay, however goalie Hannah Brunton stood tall and held the Rapids scoreless while another first-year forward, Kiana Fortin put the Junior Lakers up 2-0 off a beautiful pass from veteran Danika West late in the second period.
The Junior Lakers broke things open in the third with a goal from West assisted by first-year defenceman Lily Violette, and the team's fourth goal scored by team captain Ava Assinewai assisted by defenceman Jenna Kim. Niagara finally got on the board with under three minutes left in the third with the final score 4-1 for North Bay. Brunton made 21 saves in the win that put North Bay in the finals against Leaside on Sunday afternoon.
With Leaside recently eliminating North Bay from their playoffs, and the heartbreaking 1-0 loss in the tournament’s round robin play, the Junior Lakers came out flying in the finals with something to prove.
There was no scoring in the first period, as the teams were not giving each other many opportunities setting the tone for tight checking game. Things changed quickly in the second period when Kiana Fortin used her speed to spring herself on a breakaway and burry the game’s first goal with an assist from Taylor Yeo that put North Bay up 1-0. With under three minutes in the second period, first year forward Grace Ouellette used her strength and determination off an offensive zone faceoff to bang home a rebound to put the Junior Lakers up 2-0. In the last minute of the second period, Leaside was finally able to get one past Junior Lakers netminder Kaylee Lang to cut the lead to 2-1.
The third period was a back-and-forth battle as the two teams traded chances, with Leaside pulling their goalie for an extra attacker for the final two minutes, but Lang closed the door for the 19-save performance and Junior Lakers won 2-1.
Other goal scorers over the weekend included Chloe Frank and Jenna Kim, with Jorja Dugas, Chloe Chemery, Ocean Brassard and Grace Roynon all collecting assists.
The coaching staff of Laura McKenzie, Madison Laberge, Dave Dugas, Chad Frank, Paul Yeo and Jeff Roynon were pleased with the team’s consistent work ethic during the weekend as the team prepares to compete at Provincial Championships in April.
