The Vancouver Island Seals made it further in the boxing day hockey tournament in Calgary than ever before.
The Midget AAA girls started the tournament against the Melville Prairie Fire on Dec. 26. The opposition put the first goal in the net, but in the second period the Seals came back with two from Eva Debaie and one from Megan Bouveur. The Prairie Fire put another one in the net in the third, but fizzled against the mighty Seals.
Goalie Jaydlin Spooner saved 32 shots.
The next day they played the Rocky Mountain Raiders and lost 9-0. Starting goalie Spooner played only the first five minutes stopping all four shots before Amy Hassel took over. She made 45 saves.
On Dec. 29 the Seals pulled off their second win of the tournament against the Kootenay Wild. The Seals met the Wild in BC Minor Hockey play in Campbell River in October, losing two games and tying the other. But they learned from their mistakes, beating the Wild in Calgary 4-2 in an exciting game.
The Wild were the first to get past the goalie, but Anika Block of the Seals matched them five minutes later. Not one minute after that the Wild pulled ahead again. Brianna Leachman tied up the game with only one minute left in the second period.
The Seals pulled ahead in the third with a goal from Bouveur and secured the win with a goal from Yannick Truter.
Hassel saved 15 shots.
The next day the Seals tied the Westman Wildcats 3-3.
They came out strong, with a goal by Debaie less than five minutes into the first period. The Wildcats responded, tying the game for only a few minutes before Mila Verbicky put another in the net for the Seals.
In the second period the Wildcats pulled ahead by two, but the Seals managed to tie the game five minutes into the third period with a goal from Hannah Charlesworth. Despite four power play opportunities, the Seals couldn’t find the net again, but they also played strong defence, killing three penalties of their own.
Spooner made 28 saves.
With that tie in the bag, the team advanced to the semi-final against the Saskatoon Stars. The Seals held the Stars to three goals, but didn’t score any of their own, only managing 10 shots on net while Spooner faced 42.
The Stars went on to face the Raiders in the final at the ScotiaBank Saddledome, losing 5-4.