by BRENDA LAMMI
Team Manager
Ottawa Valley Thunder PeeWee
It was a great end to a busy season for the Ottawa Valley Thunder PeeWee B team. After finishing second in their league and third in their play-offs, they fought hard in the ‘playdowns’, a separate competition within their league to determine who goes to the Provincials, to finish in first place and earn a place at the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association’s Provincial tournament. Twenty-four teams from across Ontario participated in their PeeWee B division, with two teams from their local league making the cut.
At the Provincials, all teams play three games in round robin format with the top two teams moving onto the qualifying round. As has been their way this year, Thunder did not take the easy route. They had one win and two ties to squeak into the qualifying round.
They were then facing sudden death, and ties were not possible. Facing the top teams in the province, the girls won their first qualifying game with a 1-0 victory over the Kincardine Kinucks. Moving onto the quarter finals, they overcame the undefeated Haldimand Rivercats with a convincing 3-0 win. The semi-finals began Sunday morning at 8 a.m. where they topped yet another undefeated team, the Mount Forest Rams, with a tip-in goal with four seconds left in regulation time.
Onto the gold medal game. They faced the undefeated Lindsay Lynx and sadly lost with two seconds left in the second overtime period. A heart-breaking loss that is reflected in the expressions of some of the girls in the team photo. The girls played their best hockey of the year. A parent from an opposing team was overheard saying that the Thunder girls could write a textbook on how to play as a team . . . very high praise for the passing and heads up play seen on the ice.
Ottawa Valley Thunder Peewee Team with their bannerThis past weekend, beyond the hockey itself, we were reminded in a few ways of the intensity of the hockey community. Julia Miller, the captain and daughter of the coach for second team from our local league to make the provincials, the Kanata Rangers, was diagnosed with leukemia in the middle of March. A devastating diagnosis for the family and a significant loss for the team. The Thunder girls and their families donated to the family prior to the tournament. Thunder also sold helmet stickers at the tournament to raise over $300 for the Miller family.
This all happened on the same weekend as the unimaginable tragedy of the Humboldt Broncos. The two teams in the Gold medal game observed a minute of silence prior to puck-drop to acknowledge the tragedy. So many reminders that though hockey is ‘just’ a game, those who play, and their families, are part of something much bigger.
The Ottawa Valley Thunder PeeWee B team is made up of:
Ashlyn McGregor-Kirkham, Renfrew; Ruby Selle, Pembroke; Aalyah Allmand, Beachburg; Tatum Ogilvie, Petawawa; Olivia Tousignant, Laurentian Valley; Avery Foy, Tramore; Ayla Lammi, La Passe; Arianna Robinson, Pembroke; Keysha Two-Axe McMullin, Pikwakanagan; Michaela Gravel, Pembroke; Brooklyn Tomasini, Cobden; Cadence Dufour, Micksburg; Lily Cahill, Cobden; Morgan Fleury, Westmeath; Ava Zadow, Eganville; Abby Pleau, Laurentian Valley and special mention to Cassandra Mercer, from Petawawa, who stepped in to play nets when our goalie broke her wrist.
Coaching staff are Chris Pleau, Head Coach; Richard Dufour and Brady Zadow, assistant coaches; Kristie Tousignant, Trainer and Brenda Lammi, Manager.
To find out more about women’s hockey in Renfrew County, visit girlshockey.ca.
