St. Thomas Thunder, Western Region ringette U14 gold medal winners, are: Emilie Brown, Jade Cormier, Olivia Cormier, Emma Jean Dicker, Emilie Fagen, Taylor Hornbostel, Larissa McCabe, Cloe Siemans, Chloe Vanderhayden, Alexis Walker, Makayla Walker, Cloe Locker, coaches Brian Hornbostel and Kayla Berdan, trainer Sarah Brown, managers Shelly Hornbostel and Rob Vanderhayden. (photo / courtesy U14 Thunder)
Sunday, March 26, 2017
By Rob J. Ross
LONDON, Ont. - The St. Thomas Thunder finishes their season with a gold medal.
Jade Cormier and Chloe Vanderhayden, with two goals each and Olivia Cormier scored as St. Thomas upended Forest Xtreme, 5-3, in the under-14 Blue division, at the Western Region ringette championships, held at Western Fair District.
"They were just over the moon in the dressing room. They were really happy,” Thunder coach Brian Hornbostel said. “I’ve coached this team for five years and it was one of the happiest I’ve seen them.”
“When we were up 4-1, the girls were just beside themselves. They were just ecstatic.”
Keeping Forest silent was a stellar performance by goalie Emily Dicker, adds Hornbostel, combined with tight checking defense from Cloe Locker, Emilie Fagan, Makayla Walker and Taylor Hornbostel.
St. Thomas had lost to Forest, 8-5, during the round robin and twice suffered one-sided setbacks during the regular season.
“I think we finally gelled. We played a better game of ringette. We had better ring control. With the gold medal on the line, we certainly played with more heart,” Hornbostel said. “We stayed disciplined. We stayed out of the penalty box.”
St. Thomas saved their best ringette for the regionals, compiling a 3-1 record.
“We played four really good games. Even our fans said, I don’t know what you did to them but they sure played a lot better ringette,” said Hornbostel.
The Thunder managed to win despite at times having a good view from the penalty box. St. Thomas racked up 14 minutes of penalties in a 5-1 win over Kitchener and had 10 minutes in the loss to Forest.
“That’s like us. I don’t know what it is. We must be a rough group,” Hornbostel said with a laugh. “Eight to 10 minutes is common for us for penalties. We’re used to playing short-handed.”
The Thunder were, however, tame beating Tillsonburg, 5-2.
“That was a good game for us. We only had two minutes in penalties. Maybe something we missed!”
Alexis Walker, Olivia Cormier, Emilie Brown, Locker and Vanderhayden, scored against Kitchener. Taylor Hornbostel picked up three assists.
Makayla Walker with two, Jade Cormier, Hornbostel and Brown, potted goals versus Tillsonburg. Alexis Walker had two helpers.
In the loss to Forest, Olivia Cormier had two goals, while Alexis Walker, Larissa McCabe and Locker had singles. Vanderhayden drew three assists.