The Ringette team won their first game of the season last week, playing in the Ajax Tournament.
The first game the girls played was against Ajax (Shaw), and they dominated the ice. Right from the start the girls took the ring and would not give it up, and within the first four minutes #19 Madison Holmes-Lauzon, assisted by #14 Kathleen Sutherland, scored the first goal of the game. They fought hard to keep ahead of their opponent as, due to bad weather conditions, they only had eight players and their goalie. Before the first period ended #26 Amy Schwindt, assisted by #7 Stephanie McCaw, scored the second goal of the game, making the score 2-0 for Trent.
With this 2-0 lead, Trent was feeling more confident than ever, and Ajax was starting to fight back as they began to rack in the penalty minutes. With eight minutes worth of penalties in the second period, Trent had the five on four advantage for over half of the period. With the extra player on the ice, it is no wonder that #14 Kathleen Sutherland was able to score another goal for the team.
Not soon after, #20 Kayleigh Green followed suit and scored the final goal of the game. For the next seven minutes the girls held off the other team until the final buzzer sounded, and had their first shut-out of the season, winning the game 4-0.
The second game of the tournament was played on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at the Village arena against Ajax (Sweeney). The team started out strong stopping their opponents before they could even make it into the end zone. Unfortunately, neither the girls nor the goalie could hold them off forever. With five minutes left in the first period, the other team skated past their defenses and scored the first goal of the game.
Immediately after the goal, #7 Stephanie McCaw took charge and put the team on the score board as she got the team’s first penalty of the game for hooking. With one minute left in the first period, #26 Amy Schwindt received an amazing pass from #17 Olivia Mercer, took the ring to the opposing end zone, and scored Trent’s first goal of the game. By the end of the first period the score was tied 1-1.
The second period is where Ajax (Sweeney) began to pull through. Trent tried their hardest to stop them, but it was not enough—they scored three more goals against Trent. Trent lost their second game 4-1.
Only a few hours later, at 10:00 p.m., the girls played their final game of the tournament against Whitby. Whitby had a very good track record before going into the game, having two shut-outs in their previous games, but Trent would not let that record continue.
Although Trent lost the game 8-2, they were able to stop Whitby from getting their third shut-out. The game started out in Trent’s favor, as #36 Sophie Guilbeault scored a goal within the first two minutes of play. However, that did not set the tone on how the game was going to be played out. Whitby scored four goals before the first period was over, making the score 4-1.
During the second period, the fans believed Trent would make a comeback as #26 Amy Schwindt scored another goal for Trent within the first minute of play. But Trent had no such luck as Whitby scored another four goals before the game was over, making the final score 8-2.
Although the team did not make it to the finals, they all kept their spirits high as they were proud to say that they had made a major accomplishment of winning their first game of the season. Good luck next time girls!