Flyers Take Game One In Southern Final
Photos and Story by Robert Thomas
It may not have been the prettiest of games but the Milestone U18A Female Flyers managed to take game one in the Saskatchewan Female Hockey League’s U18A southern division final.
Played in front of a large crowd in White City on Thursday evening the visiting Flyers pulled off a 2 - 1 victory over the Prairie Storm Thunder squad.
Both teams started out slow but the Storm Thunder held a slight edge in play during the First Period.
Milestone goalie Kamrie Kaufmann watches as Prairie Storm Thunder’s Meagan Clark jostles with Callie Callaghan for a rebound - MJ Independent photo
Scoring in the first period consisted of a longer shot by Payton Materi which Kaufmann bobbled and the puck ended up in the net. Time of the unassisted goal was 1:24.
The Second Period saw a revitalized Flyers squad who not only limited Prairie Storm Thunder advance to the neutral zone - through aggressive forechecking and backchecking - but on three occasions beat Storm Thunder’s goaltender Ivy Grant only to hit the goal post.
The Flyers were able to get on the scoreboard though on a goal by Sidney Ellingson who received a pass behind the Prairie Storm Thunder’s defense and then with a small breakaway skated in alone on Grant beating her on the backhand. Time of the goal was 12:43.
Sidney Ellingson moves in on netminder Ivy Grant scoring in the backhand - MJ Independent photo
The Flyers’s Nikita Halyk fights against Prairie Storm Thunder’s Amber Thacyk for the puck - MJ Independent photo
The Flyers’ Sidney Ellingson and Prairie Storm Thunder’s Alexa Materi fight for the puck - MJ Independent photo
The Third Period was a split just in favour of the Flyers.,
With the game winding down Cara Farris took a longer shot which went between Grant’s pads and into the net. Time of the goal was 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation play. The assist went to McKenna Perras.
The large contingent of Flyer’s fans who made the trip let loose with the cowbells.
Milestone’s coach Shane Kaufmann said the Flyers were once again off to a slow start in the First Period - specifically the first five minutes
Something the team has been plagued with all season.
Kaufmann, who is known for his more laid back approach to coaching, said in-between periods the talk with the girls was simply to “skate hard and play hard.”
He said the tunes were playing in the dressing room to keep the team motivated.
There were also some concerns about the flooding of the White City rink which saw excessive water behind the net and the effect it would have on play.
He saw nothing out of the ordinary when it came to the aggressive forechecking and backchecking but it was just how playoff hockey is played.
The team also does not dwell on the Prairie Storm Thunder’s regular season record as the playoffs are an entirely new season.
The Flyers players celebrate their second goal - MJ Independent photo
Kaufmann said altho9ugh the Flyers took game one in the best of three series the team is not already celebrating a victory this Saturday night but they are taking their opponent seriously.
He did predict a very large and noisy crowd on Saturday evening in Milestone for Game Two in the series.
Game Two is scheduled for Saturday at the Milestone Rink.