Most hockey teams are fortunate to have one good goalie. The Vermont Shamrocks have two, which is one reason why they captured the New England District Tier II 16U girls’ championship by defeating the Maine Gladiators 2-1 in overtime in the title game.

Vermont goalies Mikaella Doran and Vika Simons split time, with each playing in the same games, as Vermont went 4-0-1 en route to the title.

“For us, it’s pretty simple,” said co-head coach John Hamilton. “We have two goalies that are very talented. We ask them, would they prefer to play an individual game and be supported by their other teammate, or split [a game] between the two?

“When we asked them, each girl was on the same page. One wanted to play early and the other wanted to finish the game. It’s been that way, and it’s worked. We’ll continue to do the same thing.”

Doran held the Gladiators scoreless during the first period.       Simons replaced her in net for the second period and, eventually, overtime. But while she did allow Maine’s lone goal, she made an impressive total of 20 saves, including four in the extra session.

Versatile Shamrock

Riley Yandow scored with 4:21 left in overtime to give Vermont the victory over Maine. But a year ago she might not have been in that position because instead of playing wing she was a defenseman.

“She’s very good at puck possession,” said her father and co-head coach Keane Yandow. “She can handle the puck. She has good vision. She can skate, so she can flip-flop. And we needed goal-scorers because we were having trouble scoring goals.

“When we finally made up that line, they moved the puck, possessed the puck and put it in the net. It was a no-doubter.”

After moving up from the blue line, Riley Yandow skated on a line that featured Katie Matott at center and Emma Hill on the other wing.

“I would say Katie is our most prolific goal-scorer,” said coach Yandow. “She’s a sniper. But she needs help. Those two wingers [Riley Yandow and Hill] are there to help her. That was it. It was the puck possession and the skill that Riley gives that put her on that wing.”

Even more important was the fact that Riley jumped at the opportunity to play a new position.

“She does whatever the team wants her to do,” said coach Yandow. “If we ask her to play defense, she’ll play defense. If we ask her to play forward, she’ll play forward.

“She does whatever it takes, and I couldn’t be more proud of her now. And that goes along for the whole team. It’s awesome.”

Multi-Coach Operation

While Hamilton is listed on the Shamrocks’ roster as the head coach, it might as well be a typographical error as far as he’s concerned. Seemingly in an eye blink, Hamilton lavished praise on Vermont’s entire staff, which includes Keane Yandow, Tim Matott and Patrick Burke.

“Keane Yandow also is a head coach,” Hamilton said. “We’ve done this together for years. It’s important to know we’re on the same page. We treat each other as equals, and the girls understand that. It works extremely well. We’re very fortunate to have that kind of teamwork at the coaching level, as well.

“We’ve also been supported by Tim Matott, who’s one of our assistant. Unfortunately, he was unable to be on the bench today [for the semifinals and finals]. But he’s been important all season long.”

Other Winners

The New England District Tournaments were held in various locations. In Tier I, the Mid-Fairfield Stars claimed the 14U and 16U titles while Southern won at the 19U age group. In Tier II, the Connecticut Polar Bears won the 14U title while the Portland Junior Pirates won at 19U.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.