A first-half goal would be all Kelowna Junior Heat needed, but they added two more in a 3-0 win over Vernon at MacDonald Park.
Despite the setback, the result was a marked improvement from the girls’ last game against the very strong Heat team, even though their bench was short due to multiple injuries.
Jesse Cleverley and Skylee Sigurdson-Porier worked hard on the front lines to put one through the pipes but came up empty-handed. Kendall McKinnon and Emma Glasser worked tirelessly in the middle zone and Mia Maltman, Tori Maltman, Jessie Mitchell and Lauren ( fantastic AP player ) kept United in the game on defence, shutting out the Heat’s strong forward line multiple times. As always, Ashley Befus was stellar in net with some big saves.
UNITED TOLKO U14 BOYS
It was one of those games to learn from and quickly forget for Vernon, as they fell 12-0 to a very strong Kelowna Heat team.
The Heat scored quickly and never looked back, taking a 5-0 lead into intermission.
Strong play for Tolko came from Zack Sharman, Jonah Loewen, Jonas McMeeking, Gavin Ingbrigtson and Jentenzen Peterson.
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UNITED TOLKO U12 BLUE BOYS
Vernon snagged a tie and a loss in their league games. Excellent defence by Coby Therrien, Jonah Petrone and goalie Keaton Lamoureux in the first half of the first game kept Tolko in the running for a comeback in the second half of the game. Three stellar goals by Jake Earle, Therrien, and Petrone, with an assist by Brendan Elder, tied it up, for a final tie game of 3-3.
In the second game, strong defense by Cale Fraser, Keltyn McReavy, along with goals by Petrone and Elder wasn’t enough for Vernon against the Kamloops Blaze, who scored a 4-2 win.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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