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Where to Watch
https://www.battleofboston.com/watch , we will likely have an individual taping the games and if that be the case, we will upload the games to our YouTube channel @ www.youtube.com/visionhockeygroup when the tournament is completed
Rosters
Results – 2009 Females
Thursday 6/8/2023 vs AFTI – – – 3-1 LOSS. Leah Thornhill for ‘the purple’ on the board about 7 minutes into the game – the Glovertown, NL native drove in-between the 2 AFTI defenceman and ripped a shot over the glove of the goaltender. AFTI got one back before the period ended off a goal that VHG goalie Katie Hurley did not see; 1-1.
BK Selects forward Lucy Fitzsimmons scored a go-ahead goal that went off the post, off the mesh and out but the goal was waved off by the officials. Shortly after that, AFTI scored 2 unanswered goals and – Vic Rauter make the final – 3-1 AFTI. “It was a good game, we had our looks in the 3rd and we couldn’t covert. We have to work on a few things before we face the Leprechauns tomorrow” said Coach Cathy Morgan. VHG play tomorrow (Friday) @ 120 pm.
Friday 6/9/2023 vs Leprechauns – – – 2-0 WIN. The purple had the pressure on for most of this game, but could not find a way to put a goal on the scoreboard. For the second straight game, VHG scored but the referee did not think so! The VHG girls were resilient however, and found a way to bury a rebound off an excellent effort by Jayla Matthews to make it 1-0 with 4 minutes to play in the game. With 40 seconds left, Leah Thornhill potted her second of the game and third of the tournament to put the game out of reach.
“We stuck to a gameplan and didn’t sway from that when the puck wasn’t going in” said Coach Cathy Morgan.
Berkshire Bear Katie Hurley picked up the shutout win for the purple; Hurley was not tested a whole lot, but was sharp as a tack on every puck that went her way.
The purple did a great job of getting pucks out on the boards in this hockey game, and have been getting contributions in different ways from everyone in the line-up.
Saturday 6/10/2023 vs Junior Bruins Roses – – – 1-0 WIN. with just under 2 minutes to play in the game, Bella Crescimanni took a pass from the middle of the ice and ripped it blocker side high to give the purple a 1-0 lead which Katie Hurley and co would not relinquish. Hurley has not given up a goal in the round robin portion of the tournament. “We are letting her see a lot of shots” said Coach Cathy Morgan. She’s really calm back there”. This was a game where players had to battle for every inch of ice – there wasn’t much room, just a fast-paced high-energy game.
Saturday 6/10/2023 vs East Coast Militia – – – 4-2 WIN. The purple jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in this game – a small tweak in the line-up saw Madison Holl go between Matthews and Vint, a move which paid dividends early as Vint and Matthews found the back of the net in the first couple of shifts. Paige Kinden-Smith picked up her first of the tournament off intense pressure from Ella Meade, who has been a beast so far in this tournament. The coaches liked the fact that goals were being scored off scrambles/rebounds today – “we went to the net hard and played through the whistle. It’s hard to score goals from far out at this level” explained coach Cathy Morgan. Berkshire Bears goaltender Katie Hurley’s shutout streak came to an end in the first half, but the 55-minute bagel streak could be a Battle of Boston record for a single player.
Sunday 6/11/2023 vs Boston Jr Bruins – – – 1-0 WIN (Triple OT). This was a game for the ages! The B’s had most of the play in this game, but that didn’t mean that the purple didn’t have some Grade A chances in regulation to put the game on ice. Paige Kinden-Smith and Merissa Abbott had two chances right on the door step all alone, but could not convert. After a 30 minute period, the teams played 5-on-5 for 5 minutes and nothing was decided. Then 4-on-4… nothing. So the officials turned to a shootout, and after roughly 8 shooters, Julia Sharpe walked in and ripped a wrist shot just inside the post on the blocker side to send the purple to the finals. “We were thinking it might have to go to a 3-person potato sack race to determine a winner” said coach Cathy Morgan. “But Sharpy had such a nice shot. Katie (Hurley) was incredible in this game, and all tournament really”.
Sunday 6/11/2023 vs NA Elite – – – 4-0 LOSS. NA Elite were just a different animal than any of the other teams that we had faces in this tournament. NA were big, fast, moved the puck fairly well and did not allow the purple to cleanly enter the zone without a lot of back pressure. “Against a team that fast, you have to move the puck quickly and use their speed against them and we didn’t do that today” said Coach Cathy. “I also think we were distracted a little bit, with all the flights being changed and what not”.
Final tournament record: 4-2 (2nd place)
Results – 2010 Females
Thursday 6/8/2023 vs AFTI – – – 7-0 LOSS. The AFTI 2010’s are strong, and the VHG 2010’s were not ready to play in this content. This could be chalked up as a tough outing for ‘the purple’, as multiple players could not lace ’em up today due to travel/school commitments. Ava Russell played tremendous in the VHG cage, making several big saves and keeping the score from being higher. Keelyn Gallant will get the nod tomorrow vs the Leprechauns @ 920 am.
Friday 6/9/2023 vs Leprechauns – – – 4-2 LOSS. The purple led 2-0 at the half, with goals coming off the sticks of Nadia Wozniak and Alexia Jackson. The American duo resemble Batman and Robin on the ice, or as Rob Schneider once said in the movie ‘Big Daddy’ – “they go together like lamb and tuna fish. In your country, like, spaghetti and meatball!”
The purple learned in this game that you cannot take your foot off the accelerator at all in events like the Battle of Boston. The Leprechauns scored 4 unanswered goals in a 9-minute stretch of the second half. “Today was still a much better game than yesterday” said Coach Jenn Pollett. “We had some continuity in the lines today, especially up front where we only had a handful of players yesterday”.
Keelyn Gallant took the loss in the purple cage. It will be Ava Russell getting the nod in the evening match.
Friday 6/9/2023 vs Junior Bruins Elite – – – The Junior B’s had 11 skaters in this game, and the 2010’s coaching staff took full advantage. The purple gave the B’s nothing for free, and capitalized in the 2nd half to take a 3-1 win out of the Rodman Arena this afternoon. Ava Russell was her usual stellar self, making several crucial saves at key times to keep things at 1 before the offence got going. VHG took a penalty with 2:05 left to play, but killed it off and scored into an empty net to wrap it up and put it to bed.
The 2010’s have a date with the Swans on Saturday, and are heading to Coach Carm’s Holy Cross campus in the morning. Should be a great day!
Saturday 6/10/2023 vs Swans – – – 3-1 WIN. The 2010 purple received a heckuva lotta offensive contribution from its blue line today, with all 3 goals coming from the rearguards. Anna Thoms with her first of the tournament, and under-ager Sophie Dillon with a pair for the good guys. Keelyn Gallant picked up her first win on US soil. But what has stood out to the coaches is the teams ability to play when down a man; “our penalty kill has been excellent” said coach Jen Pollett. “We’re doing the little things to win hockey games right now”.
On deck is a Sunday morning match with AFTI, the same team who made life difficult on the purple just 3 short days ago.
Sunday 6/11/2023 vs AFTI – – – 5-0 LOSS. The AFTI team went on to win the tournament – their club was an absolute powerhouse. There was little goaltender Ava Russell and co could do on this day, as the AFTI’s came in waves and scored some pro-style goals that goaltenders playing down the street @ the TD Garden might not have handled. “Regardless of outcome, we (coaches) couldn’t have been happier for how we came together from Day 1 to today” said coach Jen Pollett. “This is a good little team, I can’t wait to see how these girls do at the upcoming HNL HPP Program in Corner Brook”
Tournament Record: 2-3 (3rd place)