Adam Prudhomme
Editor
NDSS Golden Hawks history was made on Thursday when Jaidyn Manion scored in overtime to clinch an OFSAA bronze medal at the A/AA girls hockey championship in Whitby.
Napanee’s 4-3 defeat of the Georgian Bay District Secondary School Bears in the bronze medal game marked the first time NDSS team had medalled at OFSAA-not just in hockey, but in any team sport.
Napanee looked well on its way to the bronze after the opening frame, holding a 3-1 lead courtesy goals from Abby Birdsell, Ella Mulder and Sienna Eberle.
The Bears got one back in the second, but the Hawks remained in the driver’s seat after a short intermission heading into the third.
“We’re up 3-2 and we went in (for the ice flood),” said Hawks head coach Matt Campeau. “In between games they’re gassed but we’re 15 minutes from a medal. Unfortunately we got 14 minutes in, (the Bears) pulled the goalie and scored with just under a minute left. It was another one through traffic. It went through seven or eight bodies and just found a spot.”
Down but not out, the Hawks showed the fighting spirit they had shown all season and dug deep.
“We got a power-play, Krissy Sutton took a big shot from the point, Jaidyn Manion, who is our fifth-year captain, grabbed the rebound and buried it,” said Campeau. “I don’t know how much better it can get to score the overtime winner and win an OFSAA medal in your last high school game.”
Lily Reid earned the win, capping an outstanding tournament in net for the Hawks. She allowed just seven goals in six games with three shutouts.
Napanee had to regroup ahead of the bronze medal game as just a few hours prior their hopes of a gold medal were dashed following a 3-2 overtime loss to St. David CSS in the semifinals. Peyton Brooks scored both goals for NDSS.
They were able to put that loss behind them, rallying to finish their season on a winning note and capture a provincial bronze medal.
“A lot of real gritty, hard-working, competitive kids. Chad (Miller, fellow coach) and I were reflecting about the past teams that we had and sometimes chemistry is more important than pure talent,” said Campeau. “NDSS has always had excellent female hockey players in my time. Every year another one pops up. This year we basically had five Grade 9s pop up that played big roles for us. Carly Uens she came in as a Grade 9 and played huge minutes. Lily (Reid), we’ve got probably the best goalie in Ontario, regardless AA or AAA, I didn’t see a better goalie all week. Peyton Brooks, not many Grade 9s get to play a role on an OFSAA team. To have a Grade 9 score four and she had a couple of assists too, you can’t really overstate how big that is.”
At the other end of the spectrum was the leadership of Grade 12 veterans, Manion and Sutton along with Birdsell and Maeve Kennedy.
“(Birdsell) had four points during the week and played in every situation and was shutting their top line. Just a really excellent two-way centre,” said Campeau. “(Kennedy) played steady D all week and was a good leader.”
Depth was a major strength of this team as Campeau said they never felt the need to shorten their bench, even in tight one goal games where a loss could mean the end of the season.
The semifinal overtime loss was the lone loss Napanee suffered at the tournament, going 3-0-1 in the qualifying round.
Campeau also credited coach Amelia Kelly, a former player who provided important leadership from the bench. Off the ice the parents played a major role as well, both in driving the athletes all over the province and in their support from the stands.