Under 13 (U13) - U13-C

Tournament Storm Watch: Vol. 3 

The Carleton Place U13C Cyclones stormed into Belleville this weekend to play... well, to play many of the teams in their current local division.  The talk of the town was the fierce Glengarry Highlanders.  Could the Cyclones repeat their previous success against the dominant first place juggernauts?  Would the Cyclones come back with hardware for the third straight time?  Continue reading for all this and more. 

January 6, 2023 

Game 1: vs Kemptville  

The Cyclones were told that the first game of the tournament could always come back and bite you when it came time to move on to the semis or finals.  They knew they had to start strong.  Coming off a regular season 8-3 win over the Storm, the girls were feeling pretty confident.  The mood was loose, and the players seemed ready to go.  Alas the team with two very different identities came out flat and could not get their offense going.  Kemptville did an excellent job keeping the Cyclones hemmed in their own end.  Despite Josie "The Wall" Halayko putting on a clinic, it was just a matter of time before one snuck by.  Kemptville found the back of the net in the third period and the Cyclones were not able to get it back, despite an excellent effort with the goaltender pulled in the last minute.  This slow start would indeed come back to haunt the Cyclones later in the tournament when they missed out on getting a bye to the finals. 

Kemptville 1:0 Carleton Place  

Player of the Game: Josie Halayko 

Hardest Worker: Lila Faris 

Game 2: vs Smiths Falls 

The Cyclones needed a rebound game.  What better situation than against historical rivals, the Smiths Falls Cubs? There wasn't much time to regroup with the game taking place that afternoon.  The message was brief.  The girls needed to show up.  They needed their best.  A loss here would destroy any chance of moving forward. Despite an early back and forth, the Cyclones got on the board near the end of the first period with a beautiful tick-tack-toe that ended with Clara Salter putting the puck top shelf where the mint-chocolate chip cookies are kept.  The second period would find Lila Faris channeling her inner Bobby Orr, netting two of her eventual hat trick while flying through the air.  Smiths Falls would add one in the period, but the Cyclones held on to their lead.  Lila would complete the hat trick early in the third before the Cubs cut the lead in half.  Fans breathed a sigh of relief when Shaelin Chalmers put in the Cyclones fifth of the game and secured a strong lead that they would hold to grab the W. 

Cyclones Scoring Stats: 

G Clara Salter: A Sophia Brown and Katie Chase 

G Lila Faris: A Shaelin Chalmers 

G Lila Faris: A Ava McGarry, Shaelin Chalmers 

G Lila Faris: A Shaelin Chalmers, Ava McGarry 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Katie Chase 

Smiths Falls 2:5 Carleton Place 

Player of the Game: Lila Faris 

Hardest Worker: Clara Salter 

January 7, 2023 

Game 3: vs Glengarry 

So much anticipation.  So much drama.  This was the make-or-break game the fans had been waiting for.  Shaelin Chalmers was celebrating her birthday and reporters had asked if she felt she could pull a Shane Wright and net a goal to mark her big day.  Shaelin did not disappoint.  The message was simple.  The girls needed to score quickly and put the Highlanders on their heels early.  Cue game time- Shaelin Chalmers scored 10 seconds into the game to give the Cyclones a 1-0 lead.  She would add another before the period ended.  The arena was buzzing.  Fans were screaming.  This was the start the girls desperately needed.  It would not last.  The Highlanders stormed into the second period and quickly tied the game at 2.  How would the Cyclones deal with such adversity?  Birthday Magic- that's how!  Shaelin Chalmers would net her third and fourth goals of the game before the end of the period.  That's right, the Cyclones went into the third period with a 4-2 lead over the ferocious Highlanders.  And it didn't stop there!  Lila Faris would add 2 of her own to bring the final to 6-2.  It was clear that the Highlanders were not used to the scales tilting in such a dramatic fashion.  Things got heated!  Regardless, the Cyclones were back in the tournament and ready for more. 

Cyclones Scoring Stats: 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Julia Olmsted and Mila Straznicky 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Lila Faris and Sophia Brown 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Lila Faris and Ava McGarry 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Ava McGarry and Katie Soper 

G Lila Faris: A Shaelin Chalmers and Ava McGarry 

G Lila Faris: A Shaelin Chalmers and Ava McGarry 

Glengarry 2: 6 Carleton Place 

Player of the Game: Shaelin Chalmers 

Hardest Worker: Julia Olmsted 

Game 4: vs Belleville 

The afternoon game presented a wave of challenges.  So much was on the line.  So many scenarios could play out.  The Cyclones knew they had to win and win big!  But this game was not without controversy and adversity.  Early whistles would deny the Cyclones two definite goals and a probable third.  No matter, the Cyclones came to play.  Despite a bit of a slow start, the girls eventually stormed the board with gusto.  Shaelin Chalmers completed a natural hat trick before the first two periods were up, and Sophia Brown and Ava McGarry would add one each to seal a solid 5-0 victory (7-0, depending on who you ask).  "The Pipes between the Pipes", Piper Nicholson, skated away with the shutout and the Cyclones secured themselves a spot in the semi-finals.  Here they were to meet the Glengarry Highlanders for a rematch of the ages. 

Cyclones Scoring Stats: 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Meredith Clarke and Ava McGarry 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Ellie Sloan and Tessa Creamer 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Ava McGarry 

G Sophia Brown: A Katie Chase and Clara Salter 

G Ava McGarry: A Shaelin Chalmers and Tessa Creamer 

Belleville 0:5 Carleton Place 

Player of the Game: Tessa Creamer 

Hardest Worker: Katie Chase 

January 8, 2023 

Semi-finals vs Glengarry 

The Cyclones knew that Glengarry would come back hard.  They knew it would be a battle.  They knew that they needed to be prepared.  All the right things were said before the game.  All the right answers.  All the right attitudes.  However, five games in three days can wreak havoc.  Rather than storm out of the gate, the Cyclones had a flat start.  Tender, Josie Halayko, needed to come up big as the Cyclones found themselves stuck in their own end.  In fact, they finished the first period without a shot on net and many shots against.  This was not the same team that dominated all aspects of the game less than 24 hours earlier.  Two goals, less than 10 seconds apart, put the Highlanders up and seemed to deflate the Cyclones who could not generate any offense.  The girls would eventually cut the lead in half near the end of the second period with a top corner snipe from captain Shaelin Chalmers.  This provided a bit of a momentum shift.  The third period saw a more balanced game, but the shot differential was still much too large.  Just as things started to take a positive turn, the Cyclones were hit with two controversial calls in the last five minutes of play.  The Highlanders would add a powerplay goal and seal their fate in the finals.  A lot has been said about the late-stage calls and the "what ifs", but the truth is- the Cyclones started flat and lost the game in the first period.  It's a hard but important lesson to learn.  They've learned it against Nepean, and now they have learned it anew.  Hopefully the Cyclones can take from this loss and put into action a Kerri Walsh quote, taken right from the wall of Shoeless Joe's Restaurant, that had been utilized multiple times throughout the weekend: "Passion is a huge prerequisite to winning."  The Highlanders just wanted it more.  The Cyclones were sent packing, but have no doubt become a better team and will be a force to contend with as their regular season heats up in the next few weeks. 

Cyclones Scoring Stats: 

G Shaelin Chalmers: A Ava McGarry and Lila Faris 

Glengarry 3:1 Carleton Place 

Hardest Worker: Shaelin Chalmers 

Tournament Highlights: 

Lila Faris- Flying through the air to complete her hat trick against Smiths Falls 

Daria Sullivan- Committing time and time again to tremendous backchecking 

Clara Salter- Top shelf snipe against Smiths Falls 

Katie Chase- Being able to accept an impossible to reach pass on the fly vs Glengarry (round 1) by extending her reach and creating a solid scoring opportunity 

Shaelin Chalmers- 7 goals and 3 assists in two games on her birthday 

Tessa Creamer- Patiently taking steps in and ripping a shot from the point during an incredible shift vs Belleville 

Julia Olmsted- Taking care of everyone that came close to our tenders with ferocious conviction every single game- not to mention a solid shot block vs Glengarry (round 2) 

Ella Anderson- Going from backhand to forehand on her breakaway vs Belleville 

Chloee Carmody- Reading the pass in the neutral zone and breaking up a scoring opportunity vs Glengarry (round 1) 

Sophia Brown- Beauty goal and amazing celebration vs Belleville 

Ava McGarry- Her two-goal game, that was really a one-goal game, but actually a two-goal game 

Meredith Clarke- Perfect angling off and knocking the puck to the corner to defend an offensive attack vs Glengarry (round 1) 

Katie Soper- Excellent corner battles and holding the line vs Smiths Falls 

Mila Straznicky- consistent heads-up play and making good decisions with the puck each game all tournament long 

Ellie Sloan- A quick change of direction to fake out the offense vs Glengarry (round 1) 

Piper Nicholson- The shutout vs Belleville (especially the breakaway save) 

Josie Halayko-  That trapper all game vs Glengarry (round 1) and that blocker save vs Glengarry (round 2) 

Team- Defeating the first place Glengarry Highlanders 6-2 in one of the best games the team has played all year!