Local Ringette Junior A team moving on

VAL CARON, Ontario - The North Bay Paramedics/CTS Canadian Career College Junior A team was in action this weekend in the wrap-up to the Northeast Region playdowns, facing teams from both Valley East and Timmins in a bid to represent the region in the Provincial A Championships in Pembroke in March.

After a four game series, the locals were successful in earning enough points to take the series over their two northern rivals.

In the first game, last weekend in Timmins, the WFRA squad skated to an easy 6-1 win over the host team while Valley East dropped their first game by a score of 5-4 to the same Timmins team, returning home without a point. On Saturday, Timmins and Valley East travelled to the Bay to face the Paramedics.

The Saturday morning match-up between Ferris and the Valley saw the Paramedics open the scoring early on a goal by Amanda Storie. The Valley came back for two goals and held the lead until Jaimie Fitzer-Ross put one past the Sudbury goalie in the closing minutes of the game. The tie earned the locals one more point toward their eventual winning total.

A full house at Pete Palangio arena Saturday afternoon was treated to an excellent display of solid ringette as the Juniors again met up with the same, but what appeared to be a different, Timmins team than they had met the week before. Both teams were evenly matched despite Ferris coming out on top of the contest with a 4-2 win. Tanesha Hamelin had a great game in the Ferris net.

Sunday saw the Bayites travel to Valley East for their final game. Needing either a win or a tie to take the series on points, the girls knew what they had to do. An early goal by Valley East and a case of the jitters prevented the North Bay team from showing their true potential in the first half of the contest. The Valley, playing their usual aggressive and hard-checking game, moved ahead by two goals before the end of the half. They then ran into some penalty trouble. Despite numerous quality shots taken by the WFRA squad, they were not able to capitalize on it due to the a solid effort from the Valley goaltender. Although the play was dominated by the Big Blue offence, they were unable to put the ring past her.

A goal late in the first half by Storie started the West Ferris comeback. An early period marker by Courtney Whitwell and two more by Sarah Trottier led to a 6-6 tie. The one point was all that was needed for the Junior A team to clinch the victory in the series and move on to the Provincial A championships in March.

A young team with a small bench of 10 skaters, comprised of one major player and four underage players, the North Bay team stands an excellent chance of bringing home the top medal this season. They have won top honors in all three invitational tournaments they have entered and boast a 15-1-3 record for the season. Most are returning members from last year's Provincial A bronze medal Tween A team.

The team is next in action in Gloucester in February.

Submitted to BayToday.ca