MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Thunder Bay Sportop Midget AA Queens took part in the CCM National Invitational Tournament this past weekend and opened things up Friday morning by taking on Team CCM. The Queens jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first with goals from Brenna Nicol and Ellen Svane. The second period would see Team CCM come back with a couple goals of their own but Victoria Darosa would score once to keep Thunder Bay in the lead. CCM would again tie the game midway through the third period but only a minute later, the Sportop Queens would regain the lead on a goal from Kaylee Grosjean and get an insurance marker from Molly Kunnas, skating to a 5-3 victory in a penalty-filled affair with 33 combined minutes served by both teams.
In their Friday afternoon contest, the Sportop Queens met the Madison Capitals U19. The girls from Thunder Bay would jump out to a 1-0 lead just over 4-minutes in as Brenna Nicol would open the scoring for the second straight game. Madison managed the equalizer early in the second but Nicol would answer back with another goal. Queens netminder Makenna Burke shut the door the rest of the way allowing the Queens to hold the lead. Sydney White would notch a late goal for a 3-1 final.
On day two of the CCM Tournament, the Sportop Queens put their 2-0 record against the also undefeated Team Wisconsin U19. The Queens opened scoring just 3:12 in as Hana Whalen setup Molly Kunnas’ goal. The 1-0 lead held all the way until late in the game when Wisconsin would score with 4:36 remaining and then would take the lead with just 1:48 left in the game and eventually take the win from the MAA Queens, 2-1.
In their 4th and final game of the tournament, the Queens took on Central Plains U19. Brenna Nicol would score the first goal of the game on a setup from Kunnas and then with one second remaining in the period, Sydney White buried a buzzer beater to put the Queens up 2-0, Dayna Doucet drew the lone assist. Early on in the second, the Sportop Queens were back at it as Victoria Darosa’s goal would increase the lead to 3-0 and before the intermission, Mackenzie Lehto would score again giving Thunder Bay a large 4-0 edge. In the third period, the Queens would run into a bit of penalty trouble but, as she had done all game, goaltender Aden Johnson was perfect stopping all shots, registering a shutout in the 4-0 final.
This was a very good showing for the Sportop MAA Queens, going 3-1 with their only loss at the hands of a close 2-1 game. In all, Thunder Bay outscored their opponents 13-6 in four games.
