The long-awaited debut weekend of competition for 2022 finally arrived and boy, it did not fail to deliver on the excitement!
It was an exciting weekend of NCL matches in Markham! The KrakenTitan's first game was against Montreal's CAMO on Friday afternoon. Nerves were jittery as CAMO is perennially a very tough competitor, but the KrakenTitans rose to the occasion and dominated from start to finish sailing to an 18-7 win. Sarah A. flexed her muscles scoring a tidy 8 goals for her team.
Friday night's match-up brought the KT's arch-nemesis...the Mavericks! Both teams showed up to play. As expected it was a real nail-biter! The KTs took the lead early on but the Mavs fought back to even the score. Then it was back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And then back and forth some more! The KTs received a clutch goal from Alexia when she zoomed in on the sly and tied up the match! The KT's goalie Eva was amazing and stopped all the tough shots the Mavs were throwing at her. The final score was 10-10. That game was definitely for the fans and NOT for the parent's collective blood pressure!
Saturday morning it was right back to the pool where Ottawa's Capital Wave was waiting as the latest foe. This time, it was Karima who took the spotlight and she was ON fire in the hole racking up the points. Christina's hard work paid off as she scored her first goal of the season! Our old friend Lily W from Ottawa dominated against her crosstown rivals at centre and put on a show. Lots of great movement, cycling positions, and teamwork came from this game. The KWT's were really starting to gel after an impressive 22-6 victory.
But hold on! Stop the presses! Here comes Hamilton....Very quickly the KTs find out they cannot rest on their laurels for too long as their Golden Horseshoe rivals aren't going to give an inch...Sarah A. is rolled and ejected from the game (the league office is still looking at the replay on that one...). But when one door closes, another opens...and an opportunity presents itself for Sarah B., Alexia, and Christina to step in and take on different roles. Everyone is pleasantly surprised when they find out the KTs have quite A LOT of depth when it comes to filling the net!! Ellie and Kat each tally their first hat tricks of the season. In the end, it was strategy, patience, and depth that led the KT's to a decisive final score of 28-6 over the Hamiltons!
Sunday rounded out the weekend with the final game against Shadow. All fans were treated to a skills clinic hosted by Charly W.! Her incredible speed and uncanny ability to be wherever the ball is going to be were essential in this game. Together with Karima and Lily the KTs quickly build a lead. Newcomer Amanda pushed hard and persevered in the corner. The KTs post a win with a final score of 21-7. It was never in doubt. Special thanks to the expert cheerleading from Sarah A. from the stands. Every team member brought their A-game and the fans even got to see Alexandra set aside her red goaltender cap as she joined the melee in the pool. It sure looked like she enjoyed the change of pace!
Overall the team did a wonderful job and you wouldn't know 2 years have gone by since the last real competition. The KTs went undefeated this weekend but more importantly, there was a much-needed renewed vigour for the game. Eyes are now set on a podium finish in Calgary! Thank you, Coach Glen and Coach Owen for guiding the squad this weekend.
Special mention also goes to KW Kraken Martin Robles who has joined Capital Wave for this NCL season. His squad was in Markham as he backstopped the Capital Wave boys in the net. Their standings do not reflect the hard work that Martin did and many of his saves were for the record books!
In addition to the NCL games in Markham, our 13U Kraken athletes also faced off in Brantford for their first Gameday of 2022! They faced Hamilton, Shadow, and who else...the Mavs. After the Kraken handled the hosts from Hamilton in a strong win, they fell valiantly to Shadow and the Mavs.
It was SO great to see all athletes back where they belong with gigantic smiles from ear to ear this weekend. Can't wait till March Madness in two weeks for the next chance to hit the water!!
Unleash the KRAKEN!!
Carolynne Willis and Erika Rikker
