Playing without their leading scorer, top playmaker and best shutdown defender, the Kitchener Lady Rangers still managed to win gold at the Cambridge Challenge Cup on Sunday, edging the Saugeen-Maitland Lightning 1-0 in overtime in the gold medal game.
Kristen Straus, recently returned from England, scored the tournament winner 3-on-3 on a pass from
Caitlyn Dias, who dug the puck out of the corner after an aggressive forecheck.
Alexa Fisher, who received the player-of-the-game jacket, stopped all 19 shots for her third shutout of the tournament.
The Lady Rangers defeated Saugeen 4-0 in the opening game of the tournament on Friday, but knew the three-time defending provincial champions would be tougher in the final.
Ashley Armstrong scored twice in the opener, to earn the jacket,
Oliva Bolender had a goal and an assist, and
Gracen Mahoney, who earned the game MVP necklace, added a goal.
Megan Chapman had two assists, and
Hannah Aitchison,
Alyssa Eckert,
Hunter Lee, Straus and Dias each had one. Fisher stopped 12 shots for the shutout.
In the late game on Friday, the Lady Rangers downed the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-1. Armstrong scored twice, while
Keegan Camp provided the game winner. Chapman assisted on two goals, in her final appearance of the tournament, while
Tori Waite, Lee, Dias and Aitchison, named the game MVP, each had one helper.
Nicole Crosthwaite played a strong game on defence to earn the team jacket.
On Saturday afternoon, the intermediates blanked the North York Storm 3-0, with Armstrong scoring twice and Fisher getting another shutout. Bolender had the third goal, while Lee, Waite, Camp, Aitchison, Straus and
Clara Lochner, before leaving the tournament with an aggravated shoulder injury, had the assists. Eckert earned the team jacket for her fine blueline play and
Megan Thring won the game MVP for her relentless forechecking and backchecking.
In the late game on Saturday, Kitchener crushed the Brampton Canadettes 5-0, behind an Armstrong hattrick, two goals from Camp and perfect goaltending from
Taya Beacom, to complete the round-robin sweep.
Sophie Schmidt, Mahoney, Eckert, Bolender, Thring, Crosthwaite and Waite, who earned both the team jacket and game MVP necklace, added assists.
The Lady Rangers, who now have two tournament wins this season, play in the Bolts and Hearts tournament February 14-16, but first rap up their regular season with games in Hamilton and Guelph.
