Female Combines earn Provincial Under 20 'E' title

TWILLINGATE - In an unbelievable comeback, the female Combines of Twillingate-New World Island overcame a 4-2 deficit to the Springdale Braves in the Provincial 'E' Under 20 Female championship game at Twillingate on April 5 to tie at 4-4 and go on to take the game 5-4 in overtime.

The provincial tournament played at the George Hawkins Memorial Arena saw five teams involved including teams from Botwood, Churchill Falls, Gros Morne, as well as the Braves and Combines. Round-robin play had the Braves going undefeated having won over the Combines 6-2 on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning following a 2-0 loss against the Braves, the Gros Morne Mountaineers were awarded the Bronze for a 2-2 win-loss record. The only loss for the Combines was against the Braves.

On Sunday afternoon, the Combines took on the Braves in a match up that had Natasha Rideout from Sarah Burton and Demi Pelley score the first goal for Springdale at 13.22 of the first period. In less than a minute April Anstey of the Combines on a pass from Emily King tied the game at 1-1 to end the period.

The second period saw the Braves break the tie early at the two-minute mark with a goal from Hannah Melindy, assisted by Pelley. It wasn't until the 10:44 mark of that period that the Combines tied the score again at 2-2 on an effort by King from Jayna Clarke. However, the period ended 3-2 for Springdale with a late marker at 12:26, unassisted, from Rideout.

Again, early in the third the Braves scored to increase their lead to 4-2 on a goal by Pelley with help from Holly Goudie. For many of the fans it seemed that the round-robin win for the Braves may have been prophetic - but coach Cecil Stockley was not to be outdone. Coaching in what he realized was to be his last game of an 11-year career with the female team, he engineered a comeback that had fans enthusiastically supporting their team. At 6:39, Cecily Stockley notched her first of two goals with assists from Clarke and Shelby White. The score was now 4-3. As if sensing that a victory was in the works, the Combines kept up their assault and at 13:42 tied the score yet again at 4-4 on an unassisted goal from Clarke.

The sudden-death overtime period had the Combines in almost complete domination that culminated at the 5:40 mark with a goal from Stockley on assists from King and Anstey.