Tillsonburg trio headed to Eastern Canadian Ringette U19 Championships

From left, Madi Rapai, Megan Mullen and Hailey Lindie are headed to Eastern Canadian Ringette Championships with the Dorchester Dragons Thursday, April 16 to Sunday, April 19 in Mississauga’s Iceland Arena. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

A trip to Eastern Canadian Ringette Championships with the U19 Dorchester Dragons has been a long time coming for three Tillsonburg skaters.

But it’s a great way to celebrate going onward in their ringette careers.

“Something we’ve been looking forward to since we started provincials,” said Madi Rapai, who has suited up with the Dorchester Dragons since her U12 season.

“I’m so excited,” added Hailey Lindie, who went to Dorchester from Tillsonburg along with her U19 teammate.

Rapai, Lindie and fellow 17-year-old Megan Mullen - who moved from Tillsonburg to Dorchester in her U14 season - earned their finals appearance by qualifying for the Tier I U19 championship game Sunday, March 15 at the RIM Manulife Financial Sportsplex in Kitchener-Waterloo.

The Dragons qualified for the Tier A playoff bracket by gaining points through three ranking tournaments, placed within their Great Lakes Ringette regular season. Dorchester, Glouchester/Cumberland, Forest, West Ottawa, Sudbury and Paris met in Tier A round-robin play, with the top four teams advancing to semi-finals.

Dorchester opened with a 4-4 draw against Forest, a bit of a nemesis which finished first in Great Lakes standings, before edging Glouchester/Cumberland 4-3. The Dragons then faced West Ottawa, ‘falling apart’ a bit through a rougher game they dropped 4-1. Taking to the ice against Sudbury in a must-win situation, Dorchester responded with a solid 8-2 win.

“Our game was able to come back together and have one of our better games of the season,” said Rapai.

The Dragons were able to ride that momentum to a 6-3 victory over Paris, locking up a semi-final berth against Glouchester/Cumberland. The game’s importance was magnified, given as Ontario is hosting Easterns this year, the province gets two berths in the draw, both finalists qualifying.

The Dragons punched their ticket with a 4-2 win, emotional both on and off the ice.

“Took a lot of stress off our shoulders,” said Rapai.

“My mom told me all the parents were bawling their eyes out,” Lindie added.

Dorchester faced West Ottawa in the final, dropping a 2-0 decision.

“But we did have two goals that didn’t count,” said Lindie, players ruled to be ‘in the crease’ on both occasions.

The first situation was clear-cut, admitted Mullen, the second not so much.

“It’s just so frustrating.”

A ‘great defender’ in the words of Lindie, Mullen converted to forward following a concussion.

“She only started two weeks ago in our tournament and I think she outscored most of our forwards, including me,” added Rapai.

Rapai is a ‘very reliable’ forward says Lindie with great game sense.

“You don’t have to have a play, they figure it out on Madi’s line,” said Mullen.

Finally, Lindie has an ‘insane’ wrist shot credits Rapai, and an ability to bury big-time goals.

“She finds a pocket and it finds the back of the net.”

“And she loves cheese strings,” Mullen added with a laugh. “It pumps her up.”

Eastern Canadians will be contested Thursday, April 16 to Sunday, April 19 in Mississauga’s Iceland Arena. Coached by Laura Dayman of the National Ringette League’s Cambridge Turbos, Dorchester heads into Easterns with high hopes.

They do believe they can play with Ottawa West and are looking forward to a potential rematch following their finals loss.

“It was definitely motivational,” said Mullen, adding the Dragons will just be trying their hardest.

Ringette has been a big part of all of their lives, beginning at the ages of four or five.

“I’ve made a lot of close friends I’ll have for the rest of my life,” said Rapai.

It’s a game one can be extremely competitive in, and yet bond with opponents says Lindie, embracing the opportunity for ‘somewhere big’ in her final year of ringette.

“To end up with a big bang at Easterns is the way I want to go out,” she concluded.

Those wishing to support their efforts financially are invited to reach out to Dragons team treasurer April Mullen via email at aprilmullen@rogers.com.