If you ask Taylor Beck, her new $300 hockey stick was worth every penny.
The Northland Dodge Northern Cougars right winger got it as an early Christmas present from her father and that piece of high-tech composite made all the difference to Beck in Sunday's game at Kin 2 against the Vancouver Island Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes had just tied the game on a sharp-angle shot from Taylor Killip when Beck took a pass from linemate Hunter Mosher and took off down the left wing. The 16-year-old cut to the middle and whipped a rising wrist shot from the slot that caught a piece of the post before it dropped into the net behind goalie Jaydin Spooner with about five minutes left.
"I broke my stick a few weeks ago and I had to use my backup one which is net good at all and coach [Stew Malgunas] helped me pick out a new one and it works pretty good," said Beck. "I feel it's made a big difference with catching passes and obviously it's made my shot a lot better."
Madison Fjellstrom made it a 4-2 final, scoring at 18:41 with a power-move cut across the goalmouth to complete a three-game sweep of the Hurricanes. Cougars captain Ava Keis opened the scoring 52 seconds into the second period. Sophie White had the other Vancouver Island goal on Sunday. Emilie Nichols made 16 saves in net for the Cougars, who outshot the Hurricanes 32-18.
"Prince George is a good team and we're happy with the way we played [Sunday]," said Hurricanes head coach Dennis Bellavance, "We had a short bench and the girls got a little tired in the end and we're really young, but that's no excuse. Prince George is a good strong team."
The Cougars (21-3-0) strengthened their grip on first place in the B.C. Female triple-A Midget Hockey League. They have six league games left. The Campbell River-based Hurricanes (17-14-3) remain fourth.
It was a breakout weekend for Cougars winger Jocelyn Forrest, who had two goals and two assists in Saturday night's 6-2 victory and scored singles in each of the other two games. The Cougars won the opener Saturday morning 3-1.
"These were our last home games before playoffs and it was a good weekend, I just had that jump in me and I was really focused," said the 17-year-old Forrest. "I had good games [last weekend] at Notre Dame but I didn't play as good as I could and I knew if I wanted to play good at the Mac's tournament I'd pick my game up now. I wanted to take more shots and I did that and it worked for me."
The Cougars and Hurricanes will play in the Mac's Midget Tournament in Calgary, beginning on Friday. The Cougars open against the St. Albert Slash. They share a pool with the Slash, Swift Current Diamond (Saskatchwan), Westman Wildcats (Manitoba), and Peace Country Storm (Alberta).
"This game had an exciting finish and I think it gives the team an extra lift - to come back and win like that is great for the team going into the Mac's," said Cougars head coach Mario Desjardins.
This is the third straight year the Cougars have been invited to the Mac's. They went 0-4 in each of the previous two years.
"It's different this year, we're going in with some confidence," said Desjardins. "Everyone has been there once or twice and we're playing well. If we go in with that mindset and play our game, we can compete with anybody."
