Thunder finish season undefeated, claiming gold in championship final
The U16 Chatham Thunder ringette team finished their season over the weekend, winning the regional championship and ending the year undefeated.
Heading to Kitchener, the team hadn’t lost a single game all year, winning tournaments in London, St. Marys, and Ottawa. Their overall record was a mind-boggling 32-0-2.
The first game of the finals saw Chatham up against the Elora-Fergus Edge team. The two teams had battled at the top of the division throughout the year. A close and physical game finished with a 3-1 victory for Chatham.
Kate Thompson had a goal and an assist, with Brooke Howe and Lily Allado also scoring. Lindsey Durocher had two helpers and Emma Winkler had one.
Game 2 had the London Lynx as the opposition, the only team in the league to tie Chatham this year. To say that the Thunder wanted to avenge that would be an understatement with Chatham winning in a dominant 7-0 decision.
Grace Norris, Durocher and Howe all had two goals apiece. Allado also had a goal and two assists. Singles went to Kate Thompson, Brianna Badder, Durocher, Winkler and Norris.
The third game was against the Kitchener Wildcats. Chatham had the pressure on the whole game and came away with a 4-1 win.
Allado made two goals, while Thompson and Durocher each had one. Badder added three assists and Norris chipped in with a pair.
With the round-robin done, the Thunder moved ahead to the final against the St. Mary’s Snipers on Sunday. To put it nicely, these teams didn’t like playing against each other throughout the regular season. A rough and tumble affair finished with a 3-0 win for Chatham to complete their undefeated year.
Allado, Howe and Badder all scored for the Thunder.
Natalie Haggerty was the back stopper for all four games. She finished with a tidy line of only two goals allowed and two shutouts.
The perfect season is indicative of how well this team learned under an extraordinary coaching staff, which included Paul Norris, JT, Coach Kari and Shauna Thompson.