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Team Glacier NewsTeam Glacier Wins 2006 State Championship On Friday night for the first game of the tournament, Glacier played U of I. The two teams had not played since December when Glacier traveled to Urbana with only six players and still defeated the Illini 1-0. This Friday night, the shoe was on the other foot when Illinois had only seven players and Glacier had a full three lines of forwards and five D for only the second time all season. The game started off well. Glacier had plenty of energy and felt the advantage with Illinois having such a short bench. Less than a minute into the first period Brenda Culver scored by tipping the puck in over the U of I goalie with assists from Erin Riley and Anne Arundel. For a while after that, things bogged down a bit with Glacier getting used to having so many players. Most of the season the team had played with two lines or less which dictates a different rhythm. Nevertheless, with four and a half minutes left in the first period defenseman Anne Arundel put another biscuit in the net to bring the score to 2-0. But, the Illini, young with lots of legs and lungs were not to be undone with their top player number 6 scoring a goal just over a minute later bringing the score to 2-1 where the period ended. The second period saw the Illini tie the game two minutes into the period. Glacier dominated the period but struggled to make it show on the scoreboard. Finally, with 2:54 left in the period Michelle Nardi scored a goal assisted by Marie Calahan and defensemen Monette McKinney bringing the score to 3-2. The third period was much like the second with Team Glacier dominating play, but occasionally getting stuck in their own end. Three minutes into the third period while on a power play Monette McKinney scored an unassisted goal from the point putting the score at 4-2. This goal turned out to be the last of the game and as the buzzer sounded Glacier breathed a sigh of relief and talked about tightening things up in their own end. In net for the game was Rita Nanni who saw 18 shots. The Illini goalie faced 32 shots. Saturday saw Glacier scheduled for two games: the first against the Evanston Tigers and the second against the Inferno. The game against the Tigers was a complete mismatch. Totally dominating the Tigers, Glacier scored 10 goals, three in the first period, one in the second and six in the third as the Tigers either lost heart and gave up or got tired or both. The Tigers did score in the first period four minutes into the game. But that was the only good news for them. Renee Pearson was in goal for Glacier facing 13 shots while the Tigers goalie faced a blizzard of 35 shots. Kristi Anderson scored a hat trick, Brenda Culver had two goals, and Kristy Ross had a “hat full” of assists with three. The third game of the tournament pitted Glacier against the Inferno. The Inferno is a break off team from the former Chicago Ice organization. With several former Ice players and Illinois Storm players (the former rival to the Ice) on the Glacier roster, matches between these two teams always have something of a grudge match feel. It was a second game of the day for both teams. The Inferno had earlier played the U of I managing a third period comeback to tie 2-2. Glacier took control of the game early, dominating play and peppering Inferno goalie Lily Chin with shots from all over the zone. But, Chin kept the Inferno in the game, allowing only two late first period goals scored in the last minute. Erin Riley scored when and an Inferno player knocked down a shot from the point and Riley picked up the puck and sent it in the net through the five hole. Chin’s own former teammate Pat Lee scored off an assist by Kristi Anderson. In the second period, the Inferno was able to take advantage of a Glacier defensive breakdown and scored three minutes into the period to reduce their deficit to one. The third period saw the Glacier go down one player for a penalty early in the period. The Inferno was able to take advantage of the power play and tied the game three minutes into the period. Again, Glacier dominated play and Chin faced a blizzard of shots. But it was not until there was 5:43 left in the game that Glacier player Caroline Desrosiers Anthony scored by flipping a puck high in the air wobbling in it over Chin’s head and shoulders like a fly ball that an outfielder has lost in the sun. Brenda Culver skating too close to Desrosiers Anthony lost her balance at the sight of the puck flipping end over end and fell over pulling Caroline into a heap and both of them collapsing in laughter at the sight of the bizarre goal. Being down 3-2 with only 5:43 left in the game, the Inferno came out hard after that goal and played their best players as much as possible, but Glacier held them off by controlling the puck and keeping play down in the Inferno zone as much as possible. Rita Nanni faced several attempts, but made several spectacular saves and turned them all aside as Glacier held on for the win. In total, Rita Nanni faced 20 shots and Chin a barrage of 35. Having gone 3-0 in the round robin, Glacier was seeded first for the championship game on Sunday. Later in the evening, U of I faced off against the Tigers beating them by enough goals to put them in second place for the round robin. On Sunday evening, the Glacier and the Illini faced off again. This game had a different feel from the earlier matchup from the very beginning with Glacier taking control early and rarely ceding it. The Illini had more players on the bench for this game, but despite being younger and plenty fresh, they could not crack the relentless Glacier forecheck and had trouble breaking the puck out of their own zone. In the first period, frequent goal scorer Kristi Anderson put one in assisted by defenseman Anne Arundel and then Brenda Culver put in another assisted by Laura Moss. The second period saw Kristi Anderson score a second goal assisted by Marie Calahan and Cami (Caminem) Schoop. There was no scoring in the third, but the Illini put on a hard press at the end of the game, and in the last two minutes Glacier goalie Renee Pearson made Henrik Lundqvuist’s last 30 seconds of the Olympic Gold Medal game look like a walk in the park making one spectacular save after another. She preserved her shut out and the Glacier won the State Championship convincingly 3-0. Renee turned away 18 shots throughout the game, and the Illini goalie faced 33. Since winning the State title in it’s second year in 2003, Glacier has not relinquished it. The Regional tournament takes place the weekend of March 10-13 at the Glacier Ice Arena in Vernon Hills, IL where Team Glacier will face the Missouri State Champions, the St. Louis Red Raiders. Thanks to Joe Connors and Mike Mueller for coaching and Diane Froene for managing this year. Statistics for the Tournament
Tournament Goalie Statistics
Archived News March 5, 2006 Team Glacier Wins 2006 State Championship
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