Sunday 6th September
Our final game of the tournament was on Sunday morning against Ormsta DE, which meant an early start for everyone. Given that it was our last match after a long week of preparation, we were eager for a win and felt that we could put up a good fight against the opposition. During the fifth minute of the first period, the opposition scored on an odd man rush over the glove of Seanna Conway. Following this, the team as whole did a fantastic job on defence and prevented any further goals being scored. We created several possible scoring opportunities, but unfortunately we did not manage to convert these to goals. A memorable moment of the game was early in the second period, when Elaine McCann gave us all a lesson on how to play physical in women’s hockey, delivering an impressive hit. The match ended 1-0, despite our best efforts to equalise. Lorna Hoey was awarded player of the match.
Back in the dressing room there were many disappointed faces. But some wise words from our coaches and captains helped us to get past this and reflect on the progress that we had made over the week. We watched the remaining games, cheered on the Ice Girls from Riga and saw Sodertalje SK become the overall tournament winners. We were invited onto the ice following the final and joined the other teams to partake in the prize giving ceremony. Seanna and Anne stepped up to accept a trophy on behalf of the team, which was given to mark our participation in the tournament.
We joined the other teams for lunch which was provided at the rink before returning to the campsite for some rest and recuperation. Later that evening we presented Sean, Vytas, Ashley, Eva, Jonathon and Martin with signed jerseys and t-shirts, to express our gratitude to them for their hard work throughout the week. Since it was our last night in Sweden, we had a bit of a celebration and a late night.