Hockey Day in Canada, Port Elgin ON

February 6, 5-0 Furies

(gamesheet)


About a week and a half before this game an e-mail was sent out to season ticket holders, telling us that the game had been moved to the afternoon... and also 218 kilometres northwest to Port Elgin. The Furies had been invited to participate in the Hockey Day in Canada festivities in Port Elgin and were inviting season ticket holders to come along for the ride. So, 12:30 pm on Saturday I found myself on a bus with over 30 other Furies fans and staff, heading on our way to The Plex arena for a game against the Boston Blades.
The Furies themselves left much earlier for a busy day in Port Elgin, where the International Girls Silver Stick Caitlyn Cobean Memorial Tournament was on its second day of games. The team hosted a Skills and Drills competition in the morning, followed by photos with the Clarkson Cup and then after the game both the Furies and the Blades stayed for an evening autograph session.
After about two and a half hours on the road, we arrived to controlled chaos. The previous game wasn't quite over so we had time to stand around for a little bit before a huge line appeared as if by magic. Red Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada toques and thundersticks were handed out, making the crowd look a bit like we should have been at an Inferno game instead of a Furies game. The arena was absolutely packed, standing room only and not very much of that left either. Fans of all ages, they were loud and enthusiastic, making the game much more exciting than usual.

photo credit Masha A


There was a ceremonial puck drop with local Scotiabank branch manager Steve Inglis, and a live singer for the anthem. Unfortunately her mic wasn't working but she was still audible during the US anthem and sounded lovely. The crowd joined in on the Canadian anthem creating some timing issues (and she may have been singing the bilingual version) but a nice moment nonetheless.
The game did not get off to the best start, as Alyssa Baldin collided with the referee coming out of the first faceoff. It was a messy first few minutes. The Blades couldn't quite be said to be dominating play, but the Furies had trouble getting past the neutral zone.
Even the first goal was a mess. From my vantage point it looked like chaos in front of Boston goalie Genvieve Lacasse, including Kori Cheverie landing in the net, and suddenly a goal was called. Cheverie from Baldin and Natalie Spooner. (Spooner's secondary assist was a late addition, announced when they announced the second goal)

photo credit Masha A


Blades captain Tara Watchorn had a long talk with the officials after the goal, but nothing seemed to come of it.
Despite everything it quickly became clear that Carolyne Prevost was having a great game. She had all the best early chances and was rewarded with the second goal of the game less than two minutes after the first.
Michelle Saunders almost had the next one as Lacasse juggled the puck but eventually gained control and kept it out of the net. The third goal of the period came from the top line again, Baldin with assists from Moulson and Cheverie.
Fans were asked to stay in their seats during the first intermission as Jen Botterill conducted an on-ice interview with Tara Watchorn, accompanied by three players from the tournament. Unfortunately I was at the top of the bleachers and couldn't hear what was said.

photo credit Masha A


The second period began with a chorus of young voices chanting "Let's go Toronto!" From my notes, it looks like most of the notable plays this period were from Spooner, including a rush to the Blades goal on the penalty kill, a long puck battle against the boards that ended in Spooner losing her stick, and a shot that knocked Lacasse's stick right out of her hands.
Michelle Bonello also put in a great effort after a puck came out of the offensive zone. It took some great stick and edge work to keep the puck away from the Blades long enough for all four of her teammates to join her in the neutral zone.
Still, the score held at 3-0 for most of the period. With less than five minutes left I was just thinking to myself it was a stronger period for Boston when Prevost came in to score again. She and Emily Fulton made a great team this game, assisted on this goal by Bonello.

photo caption Masha A

Christina Kessler had some great glove work late in the period to keep the shutout alive.
Late in the second intermission, Lacasse crossed the ice to the Blades' bench to fetch a goalie stick. I wondered if her own had been damaged by the earlier shot from Spooner, or if she was being pulled. Sure enough, rookie Amanda Cariddi came in to start the third period. She was immediately tested by Spooner, but managed to keep the puck out.
In an excellent example of the need for video review, Prevost very nearly managed a hat trick with a shot that appeared from my angle to go in and out of the net. (If you were at the Plex, the extremely loud "Woo!" was me. Ahem.) It was called no goal and I've been told by someone with a better angle that the puck hit the inside of the post, came out to hit Cariddi and died in the crease. She also hit the crossbar later in the period, but the hat trick was just not to be.
Sena Suzuki also had a nice chance that she carried into the offensive zone herself (the team is picking up Spooner's habits). Kessler was a lot busier in the third period, although the actual shots on goal were about on par with the first. Jess Vella had the final goal of the game with an assist from Moulson.
The game ended with a loud countdown from the kids, complete with many thundersticks. An appropriately dramatic atmosphere for the playoff-clinching win.

photo credit Masha A

Stars:

  1. Carolyne Prevost (2G)
  2. Alyssa Baldin (1G 1A)
  3. Kori Cheverie (1G 1A)

Notes

  • The crowd definitely knew their hockey. Some of the most impressed comments I overheard were not about any goals but about plays like a sequence of two drop passes to avoid the Blades defenders.
  • Despite what looked like a bad injury last week, Moulson was back for the game, racking up a pair of assists and participating in at least one of the eye-catching plays mentioned above.
  • Kori Cheverie and Kelly Terry switched lines for this game and it certainly didn't do Cheverie any harm to be up on the top line again.
  • The defence pairings were completely shuffled from last week, putting Moulson and Gaskin together as the top pair, Saunders and Bonello as second and Suzuki with French as third.
  • Before the bus left to take us back to the Mastercard Centre we were thanked for our support, but as someone noted, the thirty-something of us weren't exactly necessary to prop up the local crowd of at least a couple thousand. It may be a cliche, but small town Ontario does love their hockey./

The Puppy Challenge

February 7, 5-2 Furies

(gamesheet)


The Boston Blades wanted in on the Puppy Challenge trend, so the Furies challenged them to a bet: loser donates twenty dollars plus another ten per goal to the winner's local Humane Society. Noted dog lover and current Furies IR resident Jenelle Kohanchuk upped the ante by contributing a signed jersey for silent auction and a basket of dog-related goodies for raffle, all proceeds going to the Toronto Humane Society.
This game got off to a much better start for the Furies. The pace was faster and everyone got in on the action early - they tallied a total of 18 shots in the first period. It was Blades goalie Amanda Cariddi's first pro start and she did really well to allow only one goal in the period, a quick shot from Kristy Zamora right off the face-off that didn't allow her any time to react as it sailed in.
The Blades fought hard to get in the Furies' way and gain possession whenever they could, it almost seemed as though with playoffs out of the picture they somehow wanted the win even more badly. However, what slowed the Furies down the most was their own tendency towards delayed offsides. A number of times their need to regroup led to Boston getting the puck.
The second period started with a segment I'll call the "Spooner-Go-Round": Spooner got the puck and circled all the way around the Blades' net twice before letting it go. Once she got the puck back she then did another turn around all of the defenders in the Blades' zone. Sometimes I'm not really sure what she's doing out there is actually productive, but it looks amazing.

photo credit Masha A


Less than two minutes into the period Kelly Terry scored the second goal of the game on an end-to-end play that was actually fairly slow and nonchalant. It looked like she was just carrying the puck back into the offensive zone, looking for someone to pass to... and suddenly the puck was in the net.

Sena Suzuki was called for hooking, leading to a messy penalty kill that kept Sonja van der Bliek on her toes. When the Furies finally got it out of their zone, a quick whistle before Cariddi actually had control of the puck denied Jess Vella a shorthanded goal. Play moved to 4 on 4 and before the announcement of the Blades penalty was finished Vella had a second goal called off, this time for kicking.
At 8:13 of the second period, with the Furies on the kill again, I was witness to a momentous event. After six straight Blades shutouts, Dru Bruns finally found the back of the net. It was a shot van der Bliek clearly thought she had but it squeaked through five hole to make it 2-1. The Blades went nuts, it was really something to see.


photo credit Masha A


Kori Cheverie put the difference back at two a few minutes later with assists from Spooner and Bonello.
The Blades' second goal of the game just straight up should not have happened. Kristina Brown got a breakaway (she may grabbed the puck as she came off the bench) with Megan Myers right behind her and no Furies close enough to catch either of them. Van der Bliek stopped Brown's shot but Myers was right there for the rebound, giving the Blades their second goal and Myers her second point of the night.
The Furies got lucky late in the period. Bonello and Stevenson were in the box for roughing and Myers was in for tripping, giving the Blades a short 4 on 3 and Dru Burns her second great opportunity of the period. Unfortunately for Boston, she missed just wide.
With a one goal game on the line, the Furies lived up to their name in the third period. If the first period started off fast, the third started off furious. Vella in particular sent shot after shot at the net - after two goals called off and at least one post in the first, she really wanted one to count. (She did get one point in the game, an assist on Zamora's goal in the first.)
Finally, exactly twelve minutes into the period, Emily Fulton came pushing hard into the zone and let a beautiful shot fly over Cariddi's shoulder to give Toronto some breathing room at 4-2.
Alyssa Baldin made it an exciting finish, getting called for boarding with just 1:40 left in the game. The Blades immediately pulled Cariddi for the 6 on 4 ...and then did the one thing you can't do when you're down by two and have an empty net: allowed Natalie Spooner a shorthanded breakaway to put the game away 5-2.

photo credit Masha A

Stars:

  1. Kori Cheverie (GWG)
  2. Amanda Cariddi (49 saves in her first start)
  3. Michelle Bonello (2A, 4PIM)

Notes

  • Spooner has a tendency to try to shoot through the defender who's challenging her. On one hand, it's always helpful to have a screen, on the other, she ends up shooting too high and hitting the defender a lot. In the second a shot like this careened off the defender and up over the netting.
  • I rarely notice Tomomi Kurata in a game, I get the impression she doesn't get a lot of ice time, but she was out a lot today and a few times had the opportunity to really show off some speed.
  • While Prevost didn't end up on the score sheet she had another good game today.
  • It was really nice to see the Blades' reaction after both goals, they've had a tough season.
  • The Canadian anthem was sung by three young boys from a local public school. Totally adorable. NB: the team tells me they're Moulson's students!
    In total, the Furies and Blades raised $538.00 for the Toronto Humane Society and the Furies matched the Blades' donation by donating another $90.00 to the Massachusetts Humane society. Excellent day for puppies all around!/

The last Furies home game (also the last of their regular season) will be Sunday February 14th at 8:00 pm. Whether you don't have a date, or have a date who's into hockey, come out and have some fun.

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