Stacey, Horne make semifinals in Gatineau

The U15 AAA Lac St. Louis Warriors - including Kahnawa’kehró:non Ryan Stacey and Hayse Horne - were in Gatineau last weekend for the 9th edition of the Gatineau International Girls Hockey Tournament.

Although the team did not medal, head coach Giovanni Iasenza is proud of how far the girls team went in the tournament, appearing in the semifinals in a losing effort against the Mauricie 55 Stars.

“We have a very young team,” said Iasenza. “I was very impressed with how they played, their mindset, and their preparation. They were exemplary.”

He said that the team’s energy, dedication, and teamwork throughout the weekend stood out to him and led them to defeating teams that, on paper, were stronger than the Warriors.

“The girls played for each other, and they played for the logo in front of the jersey and not the name behind it,” said Iasenza. “Everyone bought in and approached the tournament with a lot of energy, and we took advantage of the positive effects of that energy all tournament.”

Their first game of the tournament was on Friday, November 22, a 3-3 tie with the team that came from Slovakia – all 11 other teams in their category were from Canada, with the vast majority representing Quebec regions.

Down 3-0, goaltender Horne came into the game in relief, and did not allow a goal for the rest of the game, paving the way for the Warriors to come back and tie the game.

“She was phenomenal, she made miracles happen in net during the weekend,” said Iasenza. “Her performance on Friday meant we got to play Sunday, in the end.”

Horne also shone against the Quebec As in a 4-1 win that punched their ticket to the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

“Thanks to her brio, we were able to beat Quebec for the first time ever,” said Iasenza, who added that the Quebec City team is routinely one of the best teams in U15 AAA every year.

Stacey, a defender, also shone throughout the weekend. The defender scored twice during the tournament, one against Quebec and the other Saturday morning against the Outaouais Intrepides, contributing to the 4-1 victory.

She was also named Most Valuable Player against Outaouais – a personal highlight of the tournament for her.

“Ryan performed really well,” said Iasenza, noting especially her offensive contributions.

After the three placement games were the semifinals, where the Warriors lost 6-1 to the Mauricie 55 Stars – another team that is among the strongest in the age group, according to Iasenza.

But, he said, the score does not tell the whole story of the game.

“They were luckier than us, they took advantage of their chances, and we did not do that,” said Iasenza.

Stacey said the first half of the game was indeed quite close, tied 1-1 in the middle of the second period.

“Then things started to get a little bit crazy.”

The Warriors took two penalties, and all of a sudden the floodgates opened offensively for the Stars 55, who scored at the end of the second period and four times in the third.

Before the game, Stacey was feeling very ill – she has since recovered and is feeling much better.

“I can’t believe how incredible she was despite the pain and the sickness, that really shows an incredible determination,” said Iasenza.

“I was playing under the weather, but we had some good competition,” said Stacey.

“I had to play.”

Before the game, Iasenza made sure to check if she could play, and when she said yes, he gave the okay.

“She played really well despite everything,” said the Warriors’ head coach.

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