Ladies' hockey brings home Griz Cup
The Lady Lights are, from the front row from left: Lini Reading, Shannon Hernandez, goalie Leah Smith, Dianna McKinley; back row from left: coach Mike Cahill, Rose Moffat, Courtney Lach, Martha Rendahl, Lisa Aiken, Cody McCarthey with son Darby, Kate Moody and coach Peter Gall.
Teamwork and camraderie were theNorthern Light's Ladies greatest assets, and in the end it won them the Griz Cup.
"We had an advantage playing all tournaments together, that was a factor," Coach Mike Cahill explained, "The travelling, staying together and hanging together. The camraderie. On and off ice they are friends."
It all translated into a dramatic 2-1 vicotry over Missoula's Powder Hounds Sunday.
The Northern Light's defeated the University of Montana, the Powder Hounds, and WHAM to secure their spot in the championship game.
After a first period goal by the Powder Hounds, and a scoreless second period, defender Shannon Hernandez's shot from the blue line found its way in the net to tie the score 1-1. Forward Lini Reading scored with less than a minute remaining to pull the Northern Lights ahead and secure Whitefish's second consecutive Missoula tournament championship.
"We played incredibly the entire weekend. The first game the puck didn't leave our offensive zone for 75 percent of our game. We dominated the ice," Cahill noted.
Not that the ladies didn't make him weat the final win a bit.
"The finals game we didn't show up until the last 10 minutes of the game. But it was quite a final 10 minutes," Cahill said of the rapid fire final minutes that clinched the win. Not that Cahill minded.
"It wasun to watch. We played as team, we won as a team."
The Northern Lights finished their season with a 13-2-1 record winning two first place tourneys in Missoula and a second place finish in Butte. They will play their final game in a Billy-Jean King style game against the men at the Whitefish Ice Den on Sunday, March 21 at 8 p.m.