Bantam Female Chiefs win bronze
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- Published on Thursday, March 24, 2016
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The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The Yellowhead AAA Female Bantam Chiefs recently skated away with a bronze medal from the 2016 Provincials. The team opened up the tournament on Mar. 11 with a 4-1 win over the Westman Wildcats.
The Chiefs came out of the gate for the opening game slow, which allowed the Wildcats many early scoring chances. Yellowhead goaltender Alyana Taylor stood tall in net, making many key saves to keep the girls in the game. One shot however did slip past in the opening period to make it 1-0 Westman. Shots after the first were 11-5 for the Wildcats.
The second period saw a much better start for the Chiefs, as the team was starting to skate better. That improved effort led to their first goal at the 13:46 mark when Kaila Powell fired a shot in from the point and beat the Westman goalie. The Chiefs would continue the pressure and were rewarded for it with a late goal in the period by Powell, to make it 2-1 Yellowhead after 40 minutes.
In the third, the Chiefs scored on a power-play when Mckiya Mazur fired a shot from the slot to beat the Westman goalie. Kaila Powell scored her third goal of the game to make the final score 4-1 for Yellowhead.
The Chiefs next game was against the Interlake Ice. A slow start once again proved costly for Yellowhead, as the Ice scored three goals in the first six minutes of the game. Before the end of the first however, Jocelyn Zimmer and Amber Baker would reply to cut the deficit to just one goal.
Monet Mazawasicuna picked up a power-play goal in the second to tie things up at three. Going into the third, the Ice picked up their tempo and were able to score a pair to make the final 5-3 for Interlake.
The loss put the Chiefs in fourth place and would provide them a chance at redemption in the semi-finals, as they’d once again face the Interlake Ice. Yellowhead came out strong and had numerous chances early. They eventually opened the scoring with a goal by Amber Baker.
In the second period, the action was end to end, but neither side was able to secure the advantage. But with six minutes left in the period, the Ice would score to tie this matchup at 1-1.
An early third period goal from Sadie Wood regained the lead for the Chiefs. Interlake however, kept pressing for that equalizer. The effort paid off with six minutes left in the third, as the Ice tied the game up. This would eventually end up in overtime.
The Chiefs controlled the play for the majority of the extra time, but as happens alot of the time, the team applying pressure gives up the winning goal. The Ice scored the winner at the 5:25 mark of the first overtime. This heartbreaking loss would put the Chiefs in the bronze medal game against the Central Plains Capitals.
The first goal of the bronze medal game would arrive late in the first period, as Yellowhead’s Juliana Davis capitalized on a 2-on-1 opportunity to make it 1-0. Then, just 27 seconds later, the Chiefs doubled their advantage, as Mckiya Mazur scored to make it a 2-0 cushion. Yellowhead added a third goal at the 1:26 mark from Kaila Powell. The Chiefs notched one more in the second by Cheyenne Davie and another from Sadie Wood in the third. With 6:09 left in the game, the Capitals ended the shutout bid of Alayna Taylor to make it 5-1. Taylor’s 29 save effort though, along with the strong offensive play of the team would lead the Chiefs to the bronze medal win.
