The Oakville Hornets weathered a ferocious storm and a parade to the penalty box to edge the Windsor Southwest Wildcats 3-2 in a tense U22 Elite matchup. The game’s physical nature was established early, with five minor penalties called in the first period alone. The Wildcats capitalized first on the power play, as Emma Holm (#86) buried a feed from Megan Jean (#39) and Taylor Wilkins (#15) just two minutes into the game. Windsor doubled their lead in the second period on another power-play marker, this time from Tristan Larocque (#11), with Holm and Lilia Hunter (#73) picking up the helpers. Despite being outshot 22-8 in the middle frame, the Hornets found a crucial spark just before the intermission. With time winding down, Arleigh Anderson (#29) scored a shorthanded goal, assisted by Alexis Lee (#80) and Ava Giacomodonato (#83), to cut the deficit to 2-1 and completely shift the game’s momentum.
The third period saw the Hornets seize control, even as the penalty minutes continued to mount. Oakville’s power play finally clicked when Maya Valeri (#66) netted the game-winning goal midway through the period, with Jaime O’Toole (#27) and Ariah McGill (#23) providing the assists. The Hornets then sealed the victory with an insurance goal from Ariah McGill (#23), who was in the thick of the action all night, with O’Toole and Holly Brimacombe (#12) earning the assists. The period was marred by a major incident, however, as Hornets’ Lucy Terzievski (#71) received a checking from behind penalty and a game misconduct, resulting in a suspension. Through it all, Hornets’ goalie Chloe Smith (#89) was the backbone of the victory, turning aside 35 of 37 shots, including all 22 she faced in a dominant second period by Windsor, to secure the win.
For the Wildcats, goalie Paige Oliver (#80) was busy in a losing effort, making 33 saves on 36 shots. The story of the game, however, was special teams and resilience. Windsor went 2-for-8 on the power play but surrendered a critical shorthanded goal. Oakville, despite taking several costly double-minor penalties for head contact, killed off key disadvantages and scored on their own crucial power play. The Hornets’ ability to bend but not break under relentless pressure, led by the stellar goaltending of Chloe Smith and timely scoring from their depth, proved to be the difference in a hard-fought, chippy contest.
Mississauga Hurricanes #5875