Under 13 (U13) - U13-C
Storm Watch: 10th Edition
Storm Watch: 10th Edition
The Carleton Place U13C Cyclones played their second home game of the week on Saturday afternoon. The Nepean Wildcats, a familiar rival, rolled into Carleton Place with a score to settle. The Cyclones were flying high after their Gloucester win which put them on a seven-game win streak, if you count the tournament in Kanata. Could the girls make it eight?
The Cyclones were aware of what lay ahead when facing Nepean. Pre-game interviews indicated expectations of a tight and aggressive game. Every inch of ice would need to be earned. Fans packed the CP arena in record numbers to check out the "game of the weekend", as one excited fan referred to it.
The game was fast from the get-go. Both sides lit up the ice, driving hard and delivering the experience fans have become accustomed to when these two teams meet. The Cyclones seemed to have the advantage in offensive zone pressure, but this did not stop the Wildcats from testing netminder, Josie Halayko, several times. Living up to her namesake, "the Wall" shut things down and kept her team in the game.
Though chances were slim and open space was limited, captain Shaelin Chalmers, managed to find some room at the top of the frying pan and fired a shot top shelf where Grandma hides the Christmas baking. The Cyclones were on the board early in the second period. Three minutes later Sophia Brown would bury a backhander at the side of the net to put her team up 2-0. The goal came after a relentless attack in the offensive zone and Katie Chase got the helper. Coach Chalmers would later say, "you could feel that goal coming. Just complete control."
The third period remained a battle. Nepean never went away. They killed off an early penalty and stayed on the attack. They shadowed the Cyclones so well that there was even a moment where helmets became locked together. Staff reminded the Cyclones during the second intermission that the Wildcats had come back from a 3-0 deficit in their last meeting. The message was clear: "keep the foot on the pedal!" Fans would finally breathe a sigh of relief with about 5 minutes to go in the third when Shaelin Chalmers broke away from two Wildcats and buried her second of the game.
When the dust settled, the Cyclones left the ice with their eighth straight victory. I don't think smiles get any bigger than what was seen at the conclusion of the third regular season meeting between the two competitors. Josie Halayko had stayed strong the entire game and can share back-to-back shutouts with her net partner Piper Nicholson. The Cyclones stuck to the game plan. Pucks got deep and players battled for every square inch of ice.
The Cyclones will travel to Smiths Falls tomorrow to play the Cubs. Surely news will travel fast. Winds are swelling. A STORM IS COMING!!!!
Player of the Game
1 Josie Halayko
Cyclones Goaltender, Josie Halayko, seen signing post-game autographs after her shutout win over the Nepean Wildcats.
