Mar 24, 2016 | cshanks | 957 views
PW B Lynx Qualify for LL Championship Weekend
The Lindsay PW B Lynx beat Whitby 4-1 last night to sweep Round 3 of the Playoffs and qualify for the Lower Lakes Championship Weekend.
The Lynx came out determined and pressed hard right from the opening shift. Centre Kayla Golden set the tone and controlled the play as the Lynx kept the puck deep in the Whitby zone and linemates Gracie Cunday and Mya Mattiussi both had good scoring chances on the 1st shift. The line of Maddy Donnelly, Taylor Allen and Nixon Francis followed that up with another great shift which saw the the Lynx take a 1-0 lead only 2 minutes into the game. Julia Sudsbury made a great pass in the neutral zone to send in Nixon Francis on a 1 on 1 and she fired a hard shot off the goalie's mask and Maddy Donnelly drove the net to bang home the rebound (assists to Sudsbury and Francis). The quick start wasn't finished as the line of Julia Staniland, Laura Brown and Taryn Lindquist put on a textbook forecheck which resulted in Laura Brown banging home a goal mouth scramble just 30 seconds later in what would be the eventual game winner (assists to Emma Shanks and Mya Mattiussi). Whitby started to settle down after that and was able to cut into the lead as a blocked shot led to a breakaway which the Whitby player was just able to get past goalie Emma Francois to cut the lead to 2-1 which is how the period would end.
The Lynx would dominate the 2nd period as the D pairings of Hannah Vallier and Emma Shanks, and Julia Sudsbury and Emma Lees kept up their aggressive pinches which the Whitby team just couldn't defend. This led to numerous scoring chances but the Whitby goalie stood tall and kept the lead to 1. Near the midway mark of the 2nd period Mattiussi used her great speed to blast past the Whitby D and get a breakaway of her own only to be denied by a great save. The Lynx kept up the pressure and another great forecheck by the line of Staniland, Brown and Lindquist led to Hannah Vallier being able to step into a free puck at the hashmarks and with a big crowd in front Hannah was able to pick a bottom corner to restore the 2 goal lead as the Lynx went up 3-1 (assists to Brown and Lindquist).
The 3rd period was again controlled by the Lynx and would see both Kayla Golden and Gracie Cunday get stoned by the the Whitby goalie. With the score still 3-1 Taylor Allen created a turnover in the Whitby end which Nixon Francis was able to gather up and make a great pass to Maddy Donnelly alone in front who fired a hard shot for the top open corner but the puck just went over the crossbar. The Wildcats would have one last great chance as a Whitby player went in alone on Emma Francois who made a great pad save with the rebound going off the post. Whitby would pull the goalie with about 1 minute left but couldn't generate any pressure and Hannah Vallier picked off a pass at centre ice and put the puck in the open net to secure the Series sweep with a 4-1 win.
The Lynx now will get ready for Lower Lakes Championship Weekend as Eastern Division Champions on the weekend of April 1-3. Go LYNX Go!!