London Devilettes Blue defeated the Brantford Ice Cats 8-0 in U-15 house league action during the 41st Walter Gretzky tournament on Friday, February 24, 2023.
London took control of the first period by pushing into Ice Cats territory however Brantford shut down their attempt for a goal at the nine-minute mark. The London Devilettes kept the play in the Ice Cats zone before their forward Abbey McLenaghan took a shot during a breakaway, but Brantford’s goalie Karmyn King was quick to stop the goal. McLenaghan made a successful second attempt 30 seconds later and brought the score 1-0. The Ice Cats continued to work the defensive during the last five minutes and kept the Devilettes from scoring despite several attempts.
Moving into the second, both teams played within the neutral zone before Brantford’s Ice Cats put the pressure on the Devilettes. Ice Cats forward Olivia Oosterhoff sprung for a breakaway but Devilettes defense player Brooklyn Cornelius stopped her in front of the net. Just before the seven-minute mark of the second, London’s McLenaghan scored her second goal of the game and brought the score board to 3-0 . Brantford spent the next six minutes playing defense and taking any chance they could to get into the offensive zone, however London showed off their determination and speed by scoring two back-to-back goals in the last minute of the period.
Going into the third with a score of 4-0, tensions were high as the hometown team couldn’t stop London’s Sadie Shephard from scoring the team’s fifth goal just before the eight-minute mark. Despite the Ice Cat’s best effort to defend their territory, the Devilettes continued to put the pressure on the offensive zone and were rewarded with three more goals and ended the game with a 8-0 score.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
