U12 Lady
Hurricanes Are Regional Champions
Round Robin Play
Game 1 Burlington VT 0 -
Manchester Lady Hurricanes 1
Game 2 Providence RI 4 - Manchester
Lady Hurricanes 5
Game 3
Manchester Lady
Hurricanes 1 - Casco Bay
Maine 1
Semi Final
Manchester Lady Hurricanes 4
- Mid-Fairfield CT Stars 3
0T
Final
Manchester Lady Hurricanes 4
- Connecticut Northern
Lights 2
Congratulations MRYHA Skater Edge
U12 Manchester Lady Hurricanes
The U12 Manchester Lady Hurricanes
are Regional Champions
The MRYHA Skaters Edge U12 Manchester Lady
Hurricanes won the girls U12 Tier II
Regional Hockey Tournament this past weekend
in Northford Connecticut. Representing NH, the Lady
‘Canes faced off against the best teams in
New England. In the Championship
game, the Lady Hurricanes took on the
Connecticut Northern Lights. Entering
the game, the ‘Canes were riding a 13 game
unbeaten streak. A lucky number some
might say as that was their locker number
for most of the weekend as well as Taylor
Merrill’s 13th birthday on Friday the 13th. With
spirits flying high,
the Lady ‘Canes took to the ice taking
control early. Just over two minutes into
the game, Jackie Kilar made a clearing pass
into the neutral zone. Kaylie DeCosmo dug in
and out rushed two Northern light defenders
and netted the first goal of the game. 30
seconds later, Tayrn O’Neil and Kilar would
set up Angela Augusta in front of the net
where she shot and beat the goaltender on
the ice with a blast of her own. The
pressure was kept on all period by the
‘Canes
with strong fore checking by Hannah Cohen,
Emma Ouellette, Megan Harper, Sarah Plourde
and Amanda Nutton. With 3 minutes left in
the period, Augusta raced down the far
boards with the puck, broke deep into the
opponent’s
zone, pulled up with a power turn, and
passed of to Ashley Zannini who one-timed
the puck 5 hole through the Northern Lights
Goaltender. In period two,
the Northern lights battled back with two
goals of their own
making the score 3 to 2 entering the third
period. The defense stood strong as two
defenders closed in with an offensive threat
where Madeline Compos forced the play at the
blue line and teammate Hannah Kearney
stepped up to break up the rush. This was
much of what would happen in period three.
The defense and back checking was ferocious.
Alex Breen kept things going in the ‘Canes
favor as she kept the puck low in the
offensive end.
Line
mate Zannini gathered up
her pass and fed line mate DeCosmo in the
high slot who blasted a
one-timer
into the net scoring the final goal of the
game. Lexi Tilton who has been stellar all
year showed the fans why
she is one of the best net minders in the
region as she kept her unbeaten streak alive
in state and regional playoffs. After the
game,
Coach DeCosmo was congratulated by parents
from all the organizations and could only
credit the players and his fellow coaches
for their great effort on team play all
season. The 4th season was a
charm. The Manchester Lady Hurricanes have
won the Regional Playoffs for the first time
after previously falling short the previous
3 seasons in the Regional
semi-finals.
In Round Robin Play, the Hurricanes beat
Burlington VT 1 to 0 in a Friday matinee.
Taylor Merrill scored
the lone goal for
the NH team as she intercepted a break out
pass at the point, stepped into the top of
the circle and blasted a wrist shot by the
VT goaltender. The score ended that way as
her defensive partners Hannah
Kearney,
Madeline Compos, Taryn
O’Neil, and Jackie Kilar helped to preserve
the shut out. Lexi Tilton in net posted her
14th shutout of the season, this
one going down as the biggest of her young
career.
Saturday the Lady ‘Canes took
to the ice for
two games. Against Providence RI,
the Lady ‘Canes jumped out to a 4 to 1 lead.
Kaylie DeCosmo took things into her own
hands early scoring a hatrick over the first
2 periods. Assist going to Zannini, Breen,
Cohen, and Augusta. Alex Breen scored the
second goal of the game when she received a
Kilar pass and raced in all alone beating
the RI goaltender stick side. With the
‘Canes up by 3 goals, the
RI team battled
back and tied things up midway through
period 3. Ashley Zannini would not let this
one slip away as Breen made a pass to
Zannini who one-timed
the puck past
a diving RI goaltender. Alanah Burns shared
the net minding in this game with Tilton to
preserve the win.
In the final game of round robin play, the
Lady ‘Canes faced a hard fought battle
against Casco Bay Maine. This was the
roughest played game in the tournament with
9 penalties called in the game.
Maine would
strike first just minutes into period one
and it looked like it might hold up. Hannah
Cohen
and Amanda Nutton each had quality chances
in period two but was turned away by the
Maine net
minder. Midway in period three, DeCosmo
circled the Casco net and centered a pass to
Zannini who hit the net to tie the game. The
final goal stood up as the game ended in
tie.
In the Semi Finals, the opponent was Mid
Fair Field Connecticut. This game was
one of the most exciting of the weekend. The
Lady ‘Canes jumped out in front 2 minutes
into the game when Alex Breen wristed a shot
past the Connecticut net minder, assist on
the play going to DeCosmo. Zannini netted
another goal for the ‘Canes two minutes
later unassisted. Mid Fair Field battled
back scoring
three goals of their own as the game entered
the third period. After calling a time out,
the clock ran down and with 1 minute left on
the clock the ‘Canes pulled their
goaltender. Zannini intercepted
a clearing pass
in the slot and returned the puck on goal
through the goaltender to tie the game with
only 30 seconds left in regulation. The game
went into over time where the Lady
Hurricanes had been perfect all season. With
momentum on their side, Breen forced the
play in the offensive end, Zannini picked up
the puck and got off a shot, where DeCosmo
gobbled up the rebound and slammed the puck
home for the game winner advancing the team
to the Championship game.
Goaltenders: Alanah Burns and Lexi Tilton
Bottom Row: Amanda Nutton, Taryn
O’Neil, Emma Ouellette, Madeline Compos,
Sarah Plourde, Jackie Kilar, Kaylie DeCosmo,
Angela Augusta
Top Row: Hannah Cohen, Taylor Merrill, Megan
Harper, Hannah Kearney, Ashley Zannini, Alex
Breen. Coaches: Tim Kilar, Amy Cohen,
Ed Plourde, HC Darren DeCosmo, Scott Harper
In the Stands: Lady Hurricanes Parents and
Fans
U12 Lady Hurricanes are New Hampshire State Champions
The MRYHA Skaters Edge U12 Manchester
Lady Hurricanes won the New Hampshire
State U12 Tier II Girls Hockey
Championship last weekend skating their
way past the competition. In the
Championship game, the Lady 'Canes faced
off against Nashua. Both teams came to
play with lots of action up and down the
ice. Nashua would strike first in period
one scoring the lone goal of the
period. This was not something new for
the Lady 'Canes who had to battle back
in two previous round robin games in
order to gain the number one seed going
into the Championship game. The Lady
'Canes would score twice in period two
taking the lead. Now with the
advantage, the 'Canes continued to pick
up the pace of the game and kept the
pressure on the opponents goaltender.
As the clock wound down, the 'Canes
would strike again late in the period
putting the game on ice. The Manchester
Lady Hurricanes captured the
Championship game with a score of 3 to
1. Offensive dominance throughout the
tournament was made by the entire team
with forward standouts going to Ashley
Zannini, Alexandra Breen, Kaylie DeCosmo,
Angela Augusta, Hannah Cohen, Sarah
Plourde, Amanda Nutton, Emma Ouellette,
and Megan Harper. Defensive
standouts limited the competition to
only 5 goals over as many games. Leading
the charge was Hannah Kearney, Taylor
Merrill, Jackie Kilar, Madeline Compos,
and Taryn O'neil. Alanah Burns had the
backup duties in net all weekend
and will surely be a force to recon with
in the years to come. This
season's standout goaltender for the
Lady 'Canes, Lexi Tilton, withstood the
challenge and posted two shutouts in the
playoffs on the way to the State Title.
In round robin play, the Lady 'Canes
defeated Nashua 4 to 2, Dover 5 to 2,
Twin Valley 7 to 0 and Exeter 7 to 0.
The Lady Hurricanes will represent the
State of NH for the fourth consecutive
season as the State's #1 U12 team
at Regional playoffs this year.
Special thanks to our Coaches Darren
DeCosmo, Tim Kilar, Scott Harper, Ed
Plourde, and Amy Cohen.
U12 Manchester Lady Hurricanes 2009 Tier
II New Hampshire State Girls Hockey
Champions picture below:
Goalies: Lext Tilton, Alanah Burns
Bottom Row: Amanda Nutton, Emma
Ouellette, Sarah Plourde, Jackie Kilar,
Taryn O'neil, Madeline Compos
Top Row: Megan Harper, Alexandra Breen,
Angela Augusta, Kaylie DeCosmo, Ashley
Zannini, Hannah Cohen
Back Row: Hannah Kearney, Taylor Merrill
Coaches Left to Right: Tim Kilar, Scott
Harper, HC Darren DeCosmo, Ed Plourde,
Amy Cohen
Manchester
Lady Hurricanes
