One can maintain their role as a gracious host, smiling courteously and welcoming visitors with open arms for only so long.
At least in the world of local sports and tournament play, that is certainly the case.
“We’ve gotten silver medals (against them) three times in a row; we’re not getting another one.”
The post-game exclamation from 13 year-old Taylor Wragg encapsulated the pre-game feelings of the bulk of the Greater Sudbury U14 A North Stars ringette team.
Virtually the entire roster had been down this road before, advancing to the finals at the Greater Sudbury Ringette Tournament in recent years, facing the Sault Ice Hawks in the championship affair, and coming up just short.
Not this time.
Not in “our house”, as the chant reverberated from inside the noisy dressing room.
“Today was a different game,” added Wragg, her team having dropped the round robin northern battle to the Hawks, 6-3 on Friday night.
The guests from the Lock City opened the scoring on Sunday afternoon at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex, with Brooklyn Adams netting the only goal of the opening frame.
Sudbury bounced back in period two – the final half, if you will, in ringette tournament format – pulling even on a tally from Addison Resmer. With a tick under two minutes remaining, the home side would capitalize on “some really good passing”, as Wragg recalled.
“I got the ring and shot it as fast as I could, low on the ice,” stated the grade 8 student at Ste Thérèse. “When I scored, all I remember was everyone coming up to hug me. It was so exciting.”
Based upon the roar in the room, it’s clear that this group of young ladies clearly feed off the energy of their coaching staff, a handful of whom have remained constant as the team has moved up the ranks.
“We have really good coaches who are positive and help us try and win,” said Wragg. “They make it a fun game.”
Fun was also a huge part of the mix in the weekend grand finale as the Timmins Tornadoes scored three times in the final 2:30, upending the Greater Sudbury North Stars 7-4 and capturing the 18+ B (Open) division banner.
“It’s definitely different than when we were younger,” said 25 year-old Alexa Verreault, with a smile.
A veteran of competitive ringette in Timmins for years, the graduate of Carleton University competed with the Ravens varsity team while away from home before finding her way back to a “pick up team”, as she termed it, that features a number of young adults who were teammates as kids.
“This is more of an exercise outlet for us – fitness and friendship,” she said. “We’re here for a good time. Regardless of the outcome of this tournament, we all have a good time. It really is just that.”
And yet after losing 8-4 the previous evening to the same opponent in their final round robin game, it certainly wasn’t as though the Timmins squad were in the mood to simply enjoy a lovely Sunday skate.
“There is still some competitiveness, but I wouldn’t say that it’s the same as when we were growing up,” said Verreault.
By its nature, the setting is somewhat forced to be more relaxed.
With their regular goaltender unable to attend the tournament, the Tornadoes reached out to local organizers and we’re thrilled to find out that 50+ year-old Sudbury beer leaguer Gerry Hayes was happy to lend the visitors a helping hand between the pipes.
That casual approach also finds its way to the strategic component – if one can call it that – in this division that brings together those who wish to play beyond their days of minor ringette, largely for fun.
“I wouldn’t say that we have planned plays and structure,” laughed Verreault. “Because we have played our whole life, we know where to go, who to pass to. It’s just memory now.”
The U14 “A” North Stars were joined by their local “B” counterparts in the winners circle as Sudbury made it a clean sweep of that age bracket thanks to a 3-1 win over the Sault Ice Hawks.
The teams traded goals in the opening frame as both Mia Taylor (Sudbury) and Claire Ethier (SSM) found the back of the net but it was only Emily-Mae Young who would turn the trick in period two, burying the only two goals of the frame for the win.
Sudbury would make it three banners that remained at home thanks to the U12B North Stars as Alissa Larose scored twice to lead the locals past the Muskoka Royals, 4-1. Spencer Linley and Quinn Gosselin rounded out the scoring for the winners, with Kennedy Somerville breaking the shutout for the Royals.
The remaining banners were well disbursed as the Carleton Ravens edged the Nipissing Lakers 4-3 in double overtime to take the U18 university division crown. Erika Poirier completed her hat trick, on the power play in period five after forcing overtime with her second goal of the game with just 10 seconds remaining in regulation time.
The Arnprior U16 A Devils received two goal performances from both Hannah Smith and Lauren Yuke, doubling the Walden Ring Devils 6-3 in their gold medal affair while Upper Ottawa Valley goaltender Mya Thero recorded the shutout, lifting her team to the U16/19 B title thanks to a 4-0 whitewashing of the Kitchener Wildcats.
The Sault crew would not leave town empty handed as the U12 A Ice Hawks defeated the Sudbury North Stars 6-4 (Charlee Proulx with two goals for Sudbury) and also claimed the FUN3 banner with a 8-1 win over the West Ferris 63’s.
