Moments after earning a thrilling 4-3 overtime win in a semifinal clash
against the Burlington Barracudas at OWHA provincials, Stoney Creek Sabres
head coach Brian Cleary heard wild cheers.
“I thought the celebration was a bit much for a semifinal win, but we found
out from our parents that we were going to the Esso Cup because Sudbury had
won over Chatham five minutes before,” says Cleary with a laugh.
With the Sudbury Lady Wolves – the Esso Cup hosts – serving as the Sabres’
gold medal game opponent, Stoney Creek guaranteed itself a berth at
Canada’s National Female Midget Championship even if it lost the provincial
final.
The Sabres, who finished 11-7-4 during the Lower Lake Female Hockey League
season, did lose the championship, but they managed to push the 19-1-2 Lady
Wolves to the limit in a contest that ended 3-2.
It would be fair to say that Stoney Creek was not the most obvious
contender to end up at the national championship considering it was sitting
with a 4-6-2 record in early December. However, the Sabres rebounded from
their early-season struggles with a 7-1-2 run heading into the playoffs.
Their late-season momentum translated into postseason victories over the
Buffalo Regals and Burlington Barracudas, but they ran into a road bump in
the LLFHL South Central Division final; the Mississauga Chiefs knocked the
Sabres out of contention for the league title with a two-game sweep.
Everything came together for Stoney Creek at provincials. After losing
their opening game to the Saugeen-Maitland Lightning, the Sabres won group
games against the Kingston Ice Wolves and North Bay Ice Boltz, a
qualifying-round contest against the Markham-Stouffville Stars and a
quarter-final match-up over Mississauga to pave the way for that happy
moment at the end of the semifinals.
“The internal belief of the girls took over as the tournament went along
and that’s what got us here,” says Cleary.
His players feel good about their game, and they are determined to continue
their magical run at the Esso Cup.
HOW THEY GOT TO SUDBURY
OWHA Provincials
Preliminary round: 2-1 – first place in Group D (lost to Saugeen-Maitland
Lightning 3-0; defeated Kingston Ice Wolves 4-1; defeated North Bay Ice
Boltz 5-1)
Qualifying round: defeated Markham-Stouffville Stars 3-1
Quarter-final: defeated Mississauga Chiefs 2-1
Semifinal: defeated
Burlington Barracudas 4-3
Championship: lost to Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-2
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-T): 11-7-4 (10th in LLFHL)
Goals for: 52 (6th in LLFHL)
Goals against: 35 (16th in LLFHL)
Longest winning streak: 3 (Jan. 9-12)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 5-2
Goals for: 20
Goals against: 13
NATIONAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
2014 – Stoney Creek Sabres | fourth place | 4-3-0 | 22GF 13GA
PLAYERS TO WATCH
TIANA FACCIO
leads by example … plays a 200-foot game … defensively responsible …
doesn’t take a shift off
REAGAN MINOR
two-way forward … leader on and off the ice … plays with passion …
tenacious and gritty player
VANESSA UPSON
power forward … very strong on her skates … hard, accurate shot … has a
knack for scoring big goals