This past weekend, March 16-18, the 3rd Annual Jacob Dievendorf Memorial Girls Tournament was held at the Malone Civic Center.  Both Malone 10U/12U and 14U girls hockey teams worked hard, but fell short in their respective bids to win titles.

Teams participating in the 14U division were the SaraPlacid Lakers, Barre Blades, Canton Blades, and the Malone Huskies. In the 10U/12U division were the Chazy Iron Maidens, Canton Blades, Barre Blades, and the Malone Huskies.

The Malone Huskies 14U team came up one-goal short of knocking off the top-seeded Barre (Vermont) Blades in the Sunday morning semifinal, while the third-seeded SaraPlacid Lakers topped second seed Canton 4-2. However, the SaraPlacid squad had to forfeit its shot at the tourney title due to a shortage of players for the Sunday afternoon championship game, which allowed Canton to advance. Barre completed an undefeated weekend in Malone with a 6-2 victory against Canton in the 14U championship contest.

Malone’s 10U/12U squad was also eliminated from the title game after getting shut out by Canton, the eventual title-game winner. Barre defeated Chazy 4-1 to advance to the final, then was blanked 5-0 by Canton in a battle of the Blades.

The Barre Blades took the initial lead in the 14U semifinal game against Malone, but the Huskies didn’t quit and tied the game at 1-1. The Vermont squad then built a 3-1 lead only to have the Malone Huskies pull to within one goal as Vail St. Hilaire scored her second marker of the semifinal contest. St. Hilaire had a golden opportunity to tie the game late in the third period when she was awarded a penalty shot after getting hauled down on a clear-cut breakaway, but was stopped by the Blades’ goalie, Mattie Cetin. As time was running out on the Huskies, they still had a chance, as coaches Matt Jones and Craig St. Hilaire opted to pull goalie Gina Norcross with just over a minute remaining. The Huskies’ chances were increased when Barre was whistled for a penalty and skated six on four but could not register the equalizer.

“Even though we lost in the semifinals, it was still an awesome weekend and a great weekend for girls hockey in the North Country,” stated Jones, who also pointed out that Malone defender Abby Monette was named the Player of the Game in the 14U contest, while Whitney St. Hilaire earned the same honor in the 10U/12U game.

Jones also noted that Chuck and Jane Dievendorf (Jacob’s parents) were on the ice to hand out medals and the championship banners in both divisions.

“We are already looking forward to next year’s tournament,” summarized Jones.