Newly appointed coach Gary Kremsater joined the team behind the bench for the first time after a 2 year break from coaching. Experienced at the Junior A and B level, Kremsater was pleasantly surprised by the speed of the game. “It was nice to be back in the thick of things and get my blood flowing. The effort put out by the players was exciting to see and I was very impressed with the positioning of the players on the ice. “
The Whalers went down 1-0 early on but this score was not to remain for very long. Kelly Roloff was quick to set up Josée Bureau (Flip Flop Shops Woodgrove Centre) who released a quick shot from the slot and then was able to deflect her own rebound off one of the Nanaimo defenders. Jen Novelli brought the score up by one with a well executed back hand. Melissa Dekker increased the lead with a perfectly placed wrist shot assisted by Kelly Godard.
The Whalers had to kill a couple penalties when Godard got caught with her fishing rod hooking the same player twice but the team was able to surmount the challenge and kill the penalties without any damage. Further on, Haley Fraser (Brian McLean) took in on herself to beat the goalie on a breakaway, followed by Allison Abraham (Avril Homes) who surprised the Nanaimo goalie with a beauty shot from the point. Bureau had an easy tap in from a stunning pass from winger Lindsay Neufeld. Novelli wrapped up the scoring with her second to conclude the final score of 7-1 for the home team.
The Whalers would like to thank their main sponsor Ecofish Research Ltd for supporting them again this year. They would also like to extend their thank you to Avril Homes for supplying a new set of jerseys.
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