The season came to a close yesterday when another late collapse prevented to Storm from moving on in the playoffs. The effort was certainly there but the team just could never find the tempo that made it such a power earlier in the season. In the first period the Storm dominated Mississauga as it had in games earlier in the season. However, despite a very one-sided period the teams remain scoreless. Again, unlike earlier in the season, the Storm could not put away a team that was clearly reeling.
The Storm was able to maintain the pressure in the second period but a defensive lapse midway through the second period led to a Mississauga goal and provided the Chiefs with new life. Just two minutes later Lauren N fired a high shot at the Mississauga net that their goalie was unable to handle to tie the score at 1-1. At that point the game began to get rough. Amanda was run into the boards and left the game with dizziness. Several minutes later Sheri was the recipient of a nasty slash that provided the Storm with a 5 minute powerplay. Sheri was able to score one goal on the ensuing powerplay but the Chiefs were able kill off the rest of the penalty without any damage.
In the third period the momentum was beginning to shift. Perhaps the Storm were tiring but nonetheless by late in the game they were just hanging on. However, with only 3 minutes remaining two defensive breakdowns just 44 seconds apart provided Mississauga with two goals and the series.
Certainly this team had nothing to be disappointed with. It was not only the most successful Storm team this season but one of the most successful teams in the Storm's 16 year history. Their record speaks for itself - in 50 games over the course of this season, the team won 30 and tied 7. They scored an incredible 121 goals. We had 4 players who scored 15 or more goals this season. Our stingy goalies - Bianca and Asia shared 18 shutouts.
Our incredible captain - the best captain we have ever seen was truly inspirational. She was an unselfish player who was constantly setting up teammates. In fact, only one player scored more total points than Mari's assist total. We received great leadership from all our third year players - Mari, Sheri, Jackie and Sarah-Kate. We will also be losing Asia, Genevieve, Lauren F and Maddy. Their departure will be a huge loss. But we have much to look forward to. Our first year Midget players made large contributions to the team and improved tremendously over the season. We hope that Madeleine, Allie, Alicia and Gabbie decide to continue what they began this season. Finally, we expect strong leadership from core players Bianca, Lauren N, Paitra, Kailee and Amanda next season.
So we will be getting together on the ice one more time at the Brampton tournament to celebrate this memorable season. We hope many of you will find the time to come out this one last time.
12 years ago
