Erica Piotrowski and Clea Hastings Light Up the Ice with in Girls Hockey Doubleheader
By Larry Moko
A girls’ high school hockey doubleheader at Morgan Firestone Arena saw two outstanding individual scoring performances Monday.
It started with Erica Piotrowski of the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals who fired five goals in an 11-0 victory over the St. Jean de Brebeuf Braves.
That was followed moments later on the same ice surface by Clea Hastings’ six-goal effort for the Bishop Tonnos Titans. Tonnos also won its game, 9-3, over the St. Mary Crusaders.
Both contests were Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic playoff quarter-finals.
As a result, third-place Newman will face the first-place St. Thomas More Knights in one semifinal on Feb. 14 while fourth-place Tonnos takes on the second-place Bishop Ryan Celtics in the other.
“Clea is a phenomenal athlete and great leader on and off the ice,” Tonnos coach Alyssa Berardocco said. “She really does lead by example.”
Hastings accounted for six of her team’s first seven goals.
The Titans’ centre and captain got the ball rolling with two almost identical goals. Both came on power plays when she swiped in rebounds from teammate Kajsa Vander Meer’s point shots.
Tonnos, 5-5 during the regular season, led 3-1 at the end of the first period and took an 8-3 advantage into the third.
Grade 11 defenceman Vander Meer also scored twice and collected three assists, while Karsyn McManus had the other Tonnos marker.
For St. Mary, goals were shared by Jade McNichol, Kendra Restauri and Chloe Pender.
The Crusaders, who finished in fifth place during the regular schedule with a record of 2-8, will challenge a Halton representative on March 5 for the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference A/AA title. The winner of that game qualifies for the OFSAA tournament March 19-21 in Brooklin.
“Our season went well,” Polak said. “The girls worked hard. They are coming together.”
Polak said the possibility of advancing to OFSAA has “absolutely” served as motivation for the St. Mary players.
In the earlier quarter-final, Newman also got two goals by Lily Farago and singles by Jessica Krakar, Gabby Salciccioli, Vivian DeFaveri and Noa Symonette.
Newman (5-4-1) finished third in the final standings while its next opponent (BR) was 7-1-2.
“Our semifinal will be a rematch of the last year’s championship game,” Cardinals coach Matt Pritchard said. “We tied them, 2-2, this year and then they beat us, 5-1. So we’re looking for some redemption.”
In the other semifinal, St. Thomas More sports a record of 9-0-1.
“We’re proud of what the girls accomplished here today and we’re hopeful we can continue this positive energy forward,” the Tonnos coach said.
Photos by Richard Andoga
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