The EcoFish Courtenay Whalers played in the local 19 Wing Comox Base Women’s Hockey tournament on the weekend. The Whalers played against three teams they had not met in the last couple of seasons so were unsure of what their competition was like.
Their first game was against the Comox Base team. It was a very physical game but the Whalers maintained control of the play and dominated the game resulting in a 3-1 win for the Whalers.
Goals and assists by: Kelly Roloff assisted by Davidson and Bert Churchill, Tera Kasubuchi (Ecofish Research Ltd) assisted by Josee Bureau (Flip Flop Shops Nanaimo), and Sam Emers got her first goal assisted by Bureau and Kasubuchi.
The second game was against the Fuller Lake She-Devils. It was another physical game and the Whalers continued to play hard. Although the Whalers lost 6-2, they did not let up. They challenged Fuller Lake and did not let them control the game. It was a hard fought battle by both teams. Goals and assists by: Lee McGeorge unassisted and by Sky Zimmerman (Brian McLean) assisted by McGeorge. Fuller Lake went on to win the tournament.
The third game was against the Victoria Stingers. The teams were evenly matched and the Whalers continued to play physical. The forwards were aggressive on the boards and back checking, while the defence played strong in front of the net and pressured on the line. Although Victoria went away with a 2-0 win, the Whalers showed an intensity and effort that seemed to be missing at the beginning of the year.
On Sunday, the Whalers met the Stingers again. The results were similar but, again, the Whalers continued to play hard. The Victoria goalie was too big of a challenge for the Whalers to overcome. The score was 5-2 with goals and assists by: Davidson assisted by Roloff and Jan Dafoe (Canadian Western Bank) and Roloff scored assisted by Churchill.
"It was a great weekend of hockey," a team spokesperson said. "The Whalers were aggressive on the boards, shooting more, winning races to the puck and did not ever seem to give up.
"Everyone kept their feet moving and really supported each other on the ice. They played physical games with a higher level of intensity and focus that had not been there at the beginning of the season. The Whalers are hoping that this carries over into the tournament this coming weekend in Port Hardy."
– EcoFish Courtenay Whalers