Avalanche next up for Sting

The Avalanche will be the Sting's next opponent, Sunday. The girls had a great practice during the week and poised to rebound from their close loss to the talented Stars team at the Ice Haus last weekend. Coach Emily won't make the game, but Coach Leslie and the other assistant coaches will have the girls ready to go from the drop of the puck. Kaitlin will be in net again this week, taking over for Whitney who had a strong showing last week.

Good luck STING!

Osterman solid in net, Sting win again

Dublin, OH - The Sting continued their winning ways by defeating a talented Blues team 5-1 Sunday. Kaitlin Osterman did a fine job manning the pipes for the Sting, giving up only one goal on several shots. She stood her ground and kept her stick on the ice during a breakaway late in the third period, turning the shot aside. A Sting defenseman and the Blues player crashed into the boards behind the net. Neither player was injured, but both showed great hustle.

Molly Brumfield is settling in nicely on the blueline. She, Alex, Whitney and Kaitlin are a formidable defensive quad and a real problem for opposing forwards.

Samantha Horton played a strong game Sunday, battling for the pucks and skating well in both zones. Mad-Dog Clingman was tenacious as always, knocking the boys around pretty good. Brienne Walker has become a go-to player for the Sting. She's a dangler and does a great job setting up her teammates at the point when in the offensive zone. Haley Abramowitz had a couple nice looks at the net in the game but the Blues goalie did a great job making saves at key points in the game.

Watch out league -- the Sting are rounding into a tough team to beat!

Go get em' Kaitlin!

Sunday's game against the Blues will be a special one for Kaitlin Osterman and her family. This will be her first crack at goalie for the year. Based on her practice, she's going to do great! Kaitlin normally plays defense for the U12 Sting. No doubt her strong play on the blueline will be missed, but she'll more than make up for it with solid netplay.

No word on who Coach Leslie will use to fill Kaitlin's normal spot, but the likely candidates are Molly and Brienne. Emma Titus, The Sting's usual goaltender, will be skating out trying to help her team score some goals. "I'm probably a better forward than defenseman," said the diminutive netminder, "I still fall sometimes skating backwards." she admitted with a smile.

Be sure to read the blog Sunday to find out how the Sting did against the Blues!

Sting defeat Newark girls 5-4

What an exciting game! Both the Sting and Newark girls put on a real show for fans and family last Sunday. The Sting squeaked out a real thriller 5-4 with just 1.4 seconds left on the clock. All the girls played great. There was action up and down the ice with scoring chances left and right. Both goaltenders were excellent in the game, standing on their heads turning away scoring chance after scoring chance.

Molly Brumfield #52 filled in at defense for Alex Jozefiak #54 who couldn't make the game. She had big skates to fill considering Alex was one of the Sting's top defenseman. Notching a hat-trick in the game, we'd say Molly filled in most excellently!

Olivia Novak notched two wicked goals in the game. She displayed excellent stick-handling in both zones, thwarting many Newark scoring chances.

When Newark did get opportunities, goaltender Emma Titus turned them away. She was nimble and stood tall in net making many key saves, including 4 good chances in the closing minutes.

Whitney Karg #45 and Kaitlin Osterman #49 were excellent manning the blueline in the offensive zone. They had active sticks and were aggressive defensively, not wanting the talented Newark girls to get a clean look in the high slot.

Madison 'Mad Dog' Clingman #50 played with excellent spirit. You'd never know she gave up so much size, controlling passes and skating with the puck in space.

Samantha Horton #42 and Emma Clark #41 did an excellent job on the forecheck and keeping the Newark wingers off the puck.

Brienne Walker #55 and Jo Wiedl #43 were physical all game. They leaned on the Newark girls and made their team proud! Haley Abramowitz #53 and Alex Bergeron #47 did an excellent job as well.

In all it was a great day for hockey. Thanks to the Newark girls for playing such a great game. What a talented team! The Sting did well to earn the victory, but both teams were victorious this game!

Sting win game 2, 6-1

Emma's postgame report inspired by Kip from Napoleon Dynamite. Don't ask. Just watch. Go Sting!

Blue Jackets defeat Sting 6-1

Sting win 2 more!

It's been a busy two days of hockey for the U12 Sting. But the hockey isn't done yet!  The girls still have a full day of hockey tomorrow down at the Ice Haus. Great news for our emerging hockey stars!  (not so much for the adults who have to be at the rink at 6:00am!) Below is a quick recap of Saturday and Sunday's action. 

Saturday - Sting 6, Flames 4

Maria Granger was in net for the Sting as they battled a talented Flames team. She was terrific, making save after save and keeping the score close when the Sting needed it. 

You may or may not know, but coach Paul's son plays on the Flames. He's Jessie's twin brother. It didn't take long for the two to mix it up. The opening face off was won by the Flames. They took the puck deep in the Sting zone but Jessie thwarted their offensive effort (you guessed it, it was her brother!). "He won't give her too much of the rough stuff or she'll get mad and return it," said Coach Paul. He'd know! 

Usual goalie Emma Titus skated out. She was a little rusty with her skating, but did well in the game. Kaitlan and Leah also played very well defensively. They were strong on their skates and battled for the puck in the defensive zone. 

The goal scorers were out in full force in Saturday's game. The girls did an excellent job passing the puck and skating to the open spaces on the ice. 

1st Period:

Hannah Manion - 2 goals; one assist provided by Kieran Arens

(2-2 after the first)

 

2nd Period:

goal by Hannah Manion assist provided by Kieran Arens

Unassisted goal by Kayleigh Bowen

Unassisted goal by Kieran Arens

(5-3 after the second)

 

3rd Period:

Unassisted goal by Kyra Collins

Leah Lauderback - penalty for tripping

Kaitlin Osterman - penalty for tripping

(Final 6-4)

Sunday - Sting 7, Flames 5

Emma returned to the net and Maria returned to center ice for the second meeting of the two teams in consecutive days. The game was just as good as the previous game, though a bit more spirited. More details in a bit.....

U12 girls battle to 8-3 win

DUBLIN, OH - The U12 girls gave it everything they had in their first game against another U12 girls team last Saturday. They won the game 8-3 after playing hard for a full 36 minutes. First year goaltender Emma Titus played a fine game, turning away several quality scoring chances. 

The Newark squad also played hard. They were a big team, as readers will see by viewing the photos from the game. Despite the size advantage the Sting stuck together, winning individual battles along the boards and in open ice. 

Maria, Taylor and Kira were all over the ice, notching goals from the high slot and on rebounds in front. Others chipped in as well, but I don't have the official score sheet so I don't know who and when! 

Defensively, the Sting played awesome. Leah, Alex, Whitney and Jessie each thwarted many offensive chances in the defensive zone. Newark didn't have many premium scoring chances due to the Sting's great heads-up positioning and consistent effort.

It was a great day for hockey. Many fans were in attendance cheering for both teams. We're certainly thankful for Newark coming to town and we look forward to the next game in February.