The UTM women’s extramural hockey team played at the Humber North Extramural Ice Hockey Tournament this weekend.
The Eagles opened the tournament against Sault College, losing 2-0.
Goalie Alessandra Andreacchi kept the Eagles in the game with multiple breakaways and point-blank saves.
Sault was able to get one past Andreacchi off a scramble in front of the net with 52 seconds remaining in the first period. The Eagles almost responded when Joey Ness rang a shot off the post.
The Eagles continued to push hard in the third period, but a cross-checking penalty with five minutes remaining slowed their momentum. Andreacchi was pulled from her net with 48 seconds to play, but it didn’t help since Sault scored an empty-net goal.
The Eagles played Lakehead College in their second game. Coach Jasmine Sheehan encouraged her players to battle every moment of the game without backing down. Khamoni Power scored in front of the net off a beautiful feed from Nicole Di Carlo. The Eagles dominated the second period with Rachel Carvalho walking in for a fair chance, but missed the net trying to shoot the puck top corner.
“[The third period] was the best period of hockey played by this team all year,” said Sheehan.
The Eagles extended their lead to 2-0 when defenceman Layla Barazi made a beautiful pass to Carvalho, who stood alone in front of the net, making no mistake burying the puck top shelf—where they keep the peanut butter.
Ness extended the lead to 3-0; starting from the Eagles blue line, she skated passed Lakehead players and the opposing goaltender, scoring another top-shelf goal. The Eagles’ win secured them a spot in the quarterfinals against Mohawk College.
The Eagles didn’t score in the first period and relied on Andreachhi to keep the other team from scoring. The Eagles outplayed Mohawk in the second, but couldn’t bury their chances.
Ness came off the bench, picked up the loose puck, split the defence, and shot the puck to the top right corner to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Mohawk capitalized on their power play by slapping a shot past a screened Andreacchi to tie the game. The Eagles almost lost the game with 1:19 remaining, but a diving Andreacchi swept the puck off the goal line just before it crossed.
Tied 1-1 at the end of the third, both teams prepared for extra time. The Eagles lost the shootout after seven rounds, though Andreacchi did a great job stopping five of seven shooters. This loss eliminated the Eagles from the tournament.
“All of those games were winnable. We have the skill to win; we just need the effort and the confidence,” says Andreachhi.
