Irwin, Holm provide ‘the long and short’ of 9-3 WCI victory

Woodstock CI Red Devil Emma Holm drives to the net against Glendale goalie Asha David with what would eventually stand as the fourth WCI goal in a 9-3 TVRA South East victory. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

The long and the short of the Woodstock CI (WCI) Red Devils’ 9-3 TVRA South East girls’ hockey victory over the visiting Glendale Gemini Feb. 4 at the Woodstock Complex was a dominant second period.

WCI defender Sierra Irwin provided the ‘long’, a pair of top-shelf slapshots teed up from the left point. Her first broke a 2-2 deadlock, beating the first-period buzzer by 17 seconds.

“Straight in,” said Irwin, who takes her inspiration not from Marie-Philip Poulin or her favourite Maple Leaf, Mitch Marner, rather her late grandfather Donald Pearson. The one who got her into hockey, he was Sierra’s biggest supporter who ‘came to everything’ and also had a decent slapshot of his own.

“It was really accurate,” credited Irwin. “It probably wasn’t the strongest, but it was really accurate.”

Irwin’s go-ahead goal was perfectly placed into the top, right corner on the glove side, happy circumstance as well as planning she admitted.

“I just kind of put it to the net and hope it gets where it needs to be.”.

Teammate Emma Holm took care of the ‘short’, driving to the net off the left-wing boards, cutting laterally past the lip of the crease and backhanding a short-range shot which Gemini goalie Asha David may have made the initial save on.

“I think the other team tipped it in,” confessed Holm with a smile, initially unaware she had scored. She prefers to get in close, get the goalie moving, and try and go ‘top shelf.’

“It still went in,” she shrugged with a smile at her unassisted marker, which came at the 3:47 mark of the second period.

Irwin upped the lead to 5-2 with 5:44 remaining in the frame, teeing up another blast from the point, high to the stick side this time on an assist to Layla Graham. Megan Atkinson tipped home WCI’s sixth goal from the slot with 2:39 to play in the second, on assists to Dakota Thomson and Alex McDonald.

“I think we started talking more, moved the puck and then we got close in front of the net,” said McDonald of the unanswered four-goal run which essentially decided the outcome.

Glendale’s Kennedy Vandendriessche went hard to the net and tipped home a Gabby Ash rebound to break off the streak with 0.3 seconds left in the second. However, Addison Trepanier, Annika Beaton and Thomson added unanswered third-period markers to round the final, on assists to Lucy Waite, Jillian Trepanier and Atkinson.

Holm opened the scoring on assists to Beaton and Hallie Turpin, with Jillian Trepanier adding an unassisted first-period goal. Ash and Sophia Monsere responded for the Gemini, with an assist to Dayna Lester.

The win was WCI’s fifth on the season, against two losses. Although comparatively young, the Red Devils roster features experienced players from Woodstock, London, Ayr and Stratford minor hockey associations, says coach Martha Trepanier.

“They’re a great group of girls,” she summed up. ““We’re really excited because there’s a lot of potential.”

TVRA South East Girls’ Hockey

Tuesday, Feb. 4

Woodstock CI 9, Tillsonburg Glendale 3

St. Thomas St. Joe’s 7, Ingersoll DCI 0

St. Thomas Parkside 5, Woodstock Huron Park 0

TVRA South East Boys’ Hockey

Wednesday, Feb. 5

St. Joe’s 6, Huron Park 1

Tuesday, February 4

Aylmer East Elgin 3, Huron Park 0