Four teams and four medals for local ringette teams

Four teams from the West Ferris Ringette Association were in Timmins over the weekend for the Northeast Regional championships, each claiming a medal in their respective divisions.

The Novice B team, gold medal winners at the Sudbury invitational tournament in December, continued their winning ways with a total sweep of the round-robin, crushing both Valley East and Timmins PJV with identical 8-1 scores. A 9-4 victory against Timmins OPSEU and 9-7 vs Iroquois Falls sent them directly to the Gold medal final, where they once again met Iroquois Falls.

In a very closely contested final, both teams exchanged goals throughout the two halves, with neither team dominating the score. At the final buzzer, the teams were tied 7-7, sending the game into sudden death overtime. Although the WFRA crew played an excellent defensive triangle, a well-placed shot by an Iroquois Falls sniper hard on the ice made it past the West Ferris goalie, handing the gold to Iroquois Falls and sending the Bayites home with a silver medal.

Team members include: Elizabeth Cochrane, Karly Lalonde, Stephanie Bethune, Adèle St. Pierre, Aaron McCormick, Kristen Zamperoni, Meaghan Spykerman, Melanie Seymour, Courtney McColeman, Olivia Parker, Megan Luoma and goalie Erin McMillan.

Bench Staff: Mike McCormick, Sandy McCormick and Cathy Luoma. Janice McColeman is the Manager.

The Open/Belle C team, in their first outing as a team, dominated play throughout the weekend and went undefeated with three wins and a tie in round-robin play to place first in their division. In the final, they romped the Sault Ste Marie entry by a score of 5-0 to bring home the gold. Coach Herb Vilneff was very pleased with his crew.

"They played so well," Vilneff said.

"The Soo team thought that they could wear us down. Instead, it was the other away around. Dale was also outstanding in net, which really helped us out."

Although the team faced much younger players who have played on both A and AAA squads this season, they were able to hold on and grab the bragging rights for this season.

The Belle/Open roster includes: Tracy Davis-Foreshew, Carol Lamers, Alexandra Lamers, Alicia Lamers and Kelsey Lamers, Kathy Luoma and Alix Luoma, Kim Weir, Julia Pearce, Kim Pitz, Tammy Stevens and goalie Dale Foreshew. They were coached by Herb and Dianna Villneff.

Both the Petite C and Tween C teams also made it to the Bronze medal game in their divisions. The Petite C team, facing Valley East in the final, skated away to a 6-3 victory while the Tween C team faced Walden, earning a 5-3 win making it a perfect weekend for all WFRA rep teams who each brought home medals.

This marks the end of the season for all West Ferris Association rep and house league teams.

Photo of silver medal winning Novice B team. Story and photo submitted to BayToday.ca