Norstar Ladies Win 2014 Provincial Championship

Norstar Ladies win 2014 Provincial B Championship - their 5th Title since 2011.

Friday night the Norstar Ladies opened the tournament against the #1 seed Mississauga. The game was tight. The first period saw end to end action with the goalies leading each of their teams. Then - at 8:33 of the second period London's #9 Brittany Mulligan fought off several defenders forcing a turnover that was intercepted by #8 Natalie Roby. Roby then flipped a break away pass to Norstar right winger #17 Courtney Simpson who converted the opportunity into a fantastic goal. London won 1 - 0 on Simpson's goal while Holly Scott stopped all 26 shots she faced. After the game - Mississauga Manager congratulated Norstar General Manager David Dudzic on London's first victory against Mississauga in 3 years.

London played Toronto next. Another game where both teams were evenly matched. Norstar took the lead at 5:22 left in the first period on a goal by centerman #22 Kristen Miles assisted by #5 Carly Marino. After the first period - the score was tied 1 -1. Then - with 10:06 left in the game Brittany Mulligan slammed a rocket shot into the net for the game winning goal. Holly Scott recorded the shutout.

Game 3 had London facing Midland #2. Another great game by both teams. London opened the scoring with 7:09 left in period 1 by Kirsten Miles assisted by #11 Sarah Kennedy and #44 Alisha Beach. Then 4:57 later - Norstar Captain #49 Andrea Walters scored on a pass from Sarah Kennedy to extend the London lead to 2 - 0. London won the game 2 - 0 with Holly Scott stopping all 23 shots she faced.

Norstar received a bye from playing in the Quarter Finals.

The Semi Final Game against Belleville was another thriller. The very speedy Belleville squad came out fast and pushed the offence often. London goalie made several key stops to keep the momentum in Norstar's favor. Then - with 2:52 left in period 1 #2 Ashley McManus gave London a 1 - 0 lead with an assist from Sarah Kennedy. The end to end action continued in the second period. Then - with 6:16 left in the game Norstar's Kristen Miles extended London's lead to 2 - 0 with an assist from #6 Danielle Lapierre. London played solid defence in the last 4 minutes of the game not allowing a shot on net and hardly allowing Belleville to advance from their own end. London won 2 - 0 with goalie Holly Scott recording another shutout stopping all 20 shots.

The Finals had London face Simcoe County. Another speedy opponent - Simcoe County came out flying. Again - early key stops from Norstar's Holly Scott kept London in the game. Then at 9:22 of the period 1 Norstar's Captain Andrea Walters scored with assists from #3 Annalise Roby and Brittany Mulligan. Then 1:22 later on a pass from #8 Natalie Roby - London's Andrea Walters converted on a breakaway to extend London's lead to 2 - 0 which they held into period 2. The start of the second period had Simcoe County really pressuring London. Excellent goaltending, defence and team composure kept London in the lead. At 8:36 of the second period Norstar's #25 Katie Turner scored for London with assists from Andrea Walters and Keelan McGoey. London won the Championship game 3 - 0 with Holly Scott stopping all 21 shots. The Stars of the Game were 1. London - Andrea Walters 2 goals, 1 assist, 2. London - Holly Scott 21 shot shutout, 3. London - Brittany Mulligan.

London Norstar goalie Holly Scott recorded 5 wins, 0 losses, 4 shut outs, stopping 98 of 99 shots faced equating to a 0.200 goals against average and .989 save percentage earning Team and Tournament MVP honours.

"This weekend we faced many good teams and every game was close. Any mistake could have changed any game. The team was focused and maintained focus on and off the bench. Our experience and composure gave us the edge. Every player played great. It was great to win at home." - David Dudzic, General Manager Norstar London.

Since 2011 - the Norstar Ladies have won 2014 Provincial B Championship, 2014 Provincial Winter Championship, 2012 Eastern North American Championship, 2012, 2011 Provincial C Championships.

Follow the Team at www.norstarhockey.com.

The Championship Roster:

Alisha Beach

Andrea Walters

Annalise Roby

Ashley McManus

Brittany Mulligan

Carly Marino

Cassidy Gosling

Cindy Olynick

Courtney Simpson

Danielle Lapierre

Haley Walsh

Heather Kalogeros

Holly Scott

Katie Turner

Keelan McGoey

Kristen Miles

Lauren Laidlaw

Lauren McInnis

Maddison Turner

Maureen Mommersteeg

Megan Howe

Megan Jany

Natalie Roby

Nicole Silvestrin

Samantha Smith

Sarah Kennedy

Diana Ljubicic - Associate Coach

Kyle Booth - Associate Coach

Tanya Companion - Associate Manager

David Dudzic - General Manager and Lead Coach