South Delta Storm Atom C1 girls hockey team headed south to test their level of play among the boys at the recent 2013 Arctic Blast Tournament, hosted by the Seattle Junior Hockey Association.
In the event's 12-year history, this was the first time an all-girls team had participated in the Atom boys tournament. Eleven of the 16 entries were from the Lower Mainland.
Another came from Victoria and the remaining four from the Seattle area.
Although they did not win any games, the girls were the talk of the tournament and much to the surprise of many, held their own and put a scare into some of their opponents. The Storm managed to open the scoring in each of their three round-robin games and were tied with Semiahmoo before surrendering a late goal in a 2-1 loss.
South Delta then dropped an 8-2 decision to Seafair before turning in another stellar performance against the Seattle Junior Blades, losing by another 2-1 score on a late third period goal.
In the consolation playoff game against Cloverdale, the Storm lost by a respectable 3-1 count despite missing three players to illness.
Many of the boys teams were taken aback by the boisterous singing coming from the girls dressing room or on the bench.
The girls also did well in the tournament's skill competition. In the Showdown event featuring shooters and goalies, Nava Hothi was eighth out of 16 participants. Goalie Gemma Kozak was fifth overall, while Taylor Griffiths earned a medal by placing second in the passing accuracy event. Emma Lee and Jade Ridgewell were 14th and 10th respectively in the skating endurance and skating skills events.
Other team members include: Sophia Obermann, Camryn Milley, Camryn Harris, Emma Stradiotti, Tessa Everett, Ashley Morrow, Brooklyn Morrow, Sara Bourdon, and Julia Farkasch.The team is coached by Jeff Morrow, Scott Ridgewell and Todd Griffiths. The team Manager is Tom Lee.
For those wanting to know more about South Delta Minor's female hockey program, the Atom girls team is planning a Bring a Friend and Skate session this spring. If interested in attending this fun day, email Diane at [email protected].
