Cats not scared of Phantom, sweep FV out of playoffs
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By Bruce Fuhr
The Nelson Daily Sports
For the third consecutive year the Kootenay Wildcats will be in the final of the B.C. Female AAA Hockey League.
The Cats booked their ticket by sweeping the Fraser Valley Phantom 2-0 in the best-of-three Female AAA Hockey League semi final Saturday in Pitt Meadows.
Brianne Burns of Kelowna gave up one goal and Daley Oddy and Hailey McLean scored singles to lift Kootenay to a 2-1 series-clinching win Saturday.
Friday, Oddy scored in overtime to spark the Cats to a 3-2 victory.
“We had a very satisfying weekend with two big wins that the girls were full value for,” Wildcats’ coach Mario DiBella told The Nelson Daily Monday.
“The team played solid defense and they outworked their opponent for the majority of both games,” DiBella added.
“(And) our veterans lead the way with relentless defense and our goaltending duo were superb.”
Leading 1-0 in the series, the Wildcats jumped all over the Phantom as Castlegar’s McLean and Oddy scored to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after one period.
Fraser Valley managed to score in the second to cut the margin in half. But Burns was outstanding between the pipes for the rest of the game to preserve the win.
Friday, the Cats needed to stage a late-game rally.
Trailing 2-1 after Fraser Valley erased a 1-0 Kootenay lead with a pair of goals, Oddy took it upon herself to tie the game with six minutes remaining.
The Cranbrook sniper, who represented B.C. at the recent Canada Winter Games in Halifax with teammate Aimee DiBella, scored the winner in the extra period.
“(Daley) drove the goal line before popping out in front of the net depositing the game winner on a backhander over the blocker side of the Phantom goaltender,” DiBella explained.
Castlegar’s Kayla Keraiff was brilliant in the goal posting her first playoff victory.
The Cats now travel to Kelowna Friday to meet the Okanagan Rockets in the Female AAA Midget Final.
Game two is Saturday with the third game, if necessary, set for Sunday afternoon at the Rutland Arena.
The best-of-three series is a rematch of the 2010 final, won by the Rockets.
In 2009 Kootenay lost to the Vancouver Fusion in the tournament final in Nelson.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
