ALBERTON, P.E.I. — With their backs against the wall, everything just fell into place for the Western Wind bantams at the DQ female hockey tournament last weekend in Moncton, N.B.
After earning just one point through their first two tournament games, the defending P.E.I. Bantam AAA Female Hockey League champions went into an elimination game ranked seventh against the second-ranked Fundy Herricanes in their final preliminary round-robin game and facing a goals-for and against scenario if they stood any chance of making the playoff round. The
Alberton-based Wind pulled out a 3-0 win and that margin of victory was barely enough for them to make it through to the playoff round, where only the top and third-ranked teams stood in their way.
Behind shutout goaltending from Cyriah Richard, the Wind edged the first-ranked Moncton Rockets 1-0 in the semifinals and then downed the Western Phantoms 3-1 in the bantam AA championship final.
“This weekend, I guess, we got off to a rocky start, kind of just didn’t get a couple of bounces here and there and then, I guess things just started to slowly fall in place for us,” said Wind coach Kyle Fraser. “We got a break with an elimination game.
“Basically, we had to get a couple of goals in order to build a plus-minus ranking to get in above another team. That worked out for us.
“We needed a two- or three-goal win and . . . there were two other teams and we needed them not to score three goals each.”
The victory over Moncton was key, Fraser suggested.
“We got some big effort from a lot of other players, too,” added Fraser. “Basically, it was the same thing we always rely on – team game.”
The Wind currently lead the three-team P.E.I. league and they play an interlocking schedule with New Brunswick. Fraser suggested the DQ tournament win will help them prepare for the second half of the regular season.
