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Jr. Sharks Triumph Over Cougars in Girls Tier II 19U Championship Game

By Carl Chimenti, 04/11/17, 10:00AM MDT

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San Jose shuts out Ann Arbor behind long-time reliable goaltender

TROY, Mich. -- Evelyne Blais-Savoie scored three times and Theresa Chickles added one more to power the San Jose Jr. Sharks to the Girls Tier II 19U title at the USA Hockey National Championships, after whitewashing the Ann Arbor Cougars 4-0 at the Troy Sports Center in Troy, Michigan.

San Jose’s scoring prowess wasn’t the only display of force at the arena, as Mother Nature unleashed a booming thunderstorm that severed all power not once, but twice, for approximately 3-5 minutes as the big crowd waited patiently in the dark for the restoration of electricity.

The loss of power occurred about three minutes into the first period.

“That was a fun game to be part of,” said the scoring hero Blais-Savoie after the game. “We all enjoyed the experience of being at the nationals and to cap it off with a national championship is an incredible feeling.”

San Jose goaltender Angela Hawthorne played a huge part in the win as well, as she kicked away all 15 shots she faced.

“We really communicated really well today,” said Hawthorne. “We seem to always start slow for some reason but today we were going on all cylinders.

Hawthorne is an unbelievable story, in that she is the only goaltender on the team. The 19U national final was her 70th appearance of the season in net.

A couple of minutes after the power came back on, the Sharks opened the scoring. Blais-Savoie, going to the front of the net, potted a rebound past Cougars goaltender Ally Kennedy, one of two goalies that played in the national finale.

Kennedy played 22:01, allowing a pair of goals on 15 shots. Britney Sibson also surrendered two goals while notching 17 saves in almost 30 minutes of playing time.

In the second period, Blais-Savoie continued her hot scoring with two more goals. The first one in the middle period came at 3:52 and the second came at 13:53. All three of Blais-Savoie’s goals were unassisted and at even strength.

Chickles added the fourth and final goal in the third period on the power play. Alexandra Stout and Sierra Donahue were awarded assists on the goal that was scored at the 8:40 mark of the final stanza.

From there, the Jr. Sharks clamped down. Despite the 4-0 loss, Ann Arbor Head Coach Brian Gibson gave high marks to both his team and the Sharks.

“I thought we played really hard and left it all on the ice,” said Gibson. “We have a great group of girls who love each other. We just did not get it done tonight. That is a very good team over there, so give San Jose Jr. a lot of credit.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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2017 USA Hockey National Championship Sites

Division Location Host Dates
Youth Tier I (14U) Scottsdale, Arizona Arizona Amateur Hockey April 6-10, 2017
Youth Tier I (15-year-olds only) Scottsdale, Arizona Arizona Amateur Hockey April 6-10, 2017
Youth Tier I (16U, 18U) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Penguins Elite April 6-10, 2017
Girls Tier I Rochester/Macomb, Michigan HoneyBaked Hockey Club April 6-10, 2017
Women's A, B, C Rochester/Macomb, Michigan HoneyBaked Hockey Club April 6-9, 2017
High School Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Suburban Hockey March 22-26, 2017
Girls Tier II Troy, Michigan Troy Youth Hockey Association April 6-10, 2017
Youth Tier II (14U) Coral Springs, Florida Florida Panthers Ice Den April 6-10, 2017
Youth Tier II (16U) Frisco, Texas Texas Amateur Hockey April 6-10, 2017
Youth Tier II (18U) Lansing, Michigan Lansing Hockey Club April 6-10, 2017
Sled San Jose, California Sharks Ice April 6-9, 2017
Adult Rec Men's Wesley Chapel, Florida Florida Hospital Center Ice April 20-23, 2017
Adult Rec Women's Ellenton, Florida Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex April 27-30, 2017