Clayton, Montgomery lead Comets by Potsdam
BFA comes away with title in 12th Annual Christi Corrigan Blitz Tournament
By ANTHONY LABOR JR.
County Courier
ST. ALBANS – The BFA-St. Albans girls hockey team continued its strong start to the season Saturday when it hosted Potsdam, N.Y. in the championship round of the Christi Corrigan Blitz Tournament at Collins Perley.
The Comets came away with a 3-1 victory over Potsdam behind a pair of goals by Reese Clayton and a big performance from sophomore goalie Makenna Montgomery.
“It was another good effort for us today,” said BFA coach Luke Cioffi. “I thought it was a more physical game than last night, so we were pleased with the whole team effort from the weekend.”
Clayton tallied two first period goals to lead the charge for the Comets. Jodie Gratton scored a goal in the second period to give the team some breathing room.
Bri Jarvis had a pair of assists and Rowan Howrigan, Ayla Shea, Amber Poquette and Molly Smith each came away with an assist.
Montgomery got her second win in her second varsity start making 21 saves. She made a number of key saves throughout the game and was strong when the Comets were on the penalty kill.
“For a kid that didn’t play a whole lot last year as a freshman, I think getting game two under her belt was great,” said Cioffi. “She did fantastic in game one, but I think she was even more in her groove today.”
Clayton got the scoring started midway through the first period. Shea picked up the puck after Potsdam tried to clear the puck out of the zone and flipped it to the slot to Clayton whose wristshot found the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Potsdam tied the game two minutes later, but Clayton gave the Comets the lead back for good late in the period. Jarvis stole the puck from a Potsdam player and quickly sent a pass to the front of the net to a wide-open Clayton who fired a shot into the net.
The Comets started the second period on the powerplay and capitalized for an insurance goal. Jarvis passed the puck back to the blue line to Smith who put a perfect pass to the right circle to Gratton. Gratton quickly put a shot by the Potsdam goalie for the 3-1 lead just over 30 seconds into the period.
From there it was a defensive battle between the two teams with both goalies making big stops to keep the score where it was.
“Our defense is gritty,” said Cioffi. “They are figuring out where each other are and what pairings go well together, and overall they were in the right spots at the right time and forced shots from the outside, so that was a good solid effort through the first two games.”
It was another impressive showing after the Comets (2-0) came away with a 10-3 win during Friday’s game against Hingham, Mass.
“Being the second game in two days, I think our numbers and depth helped us out there,” said Cioffi. “Our depth is going to be a huge factor especially throughout the season as bumps and bruises happen, so having four lines is going to really help us when they can fill in and be crucial for us.”
It was a good weekend throughout the 12th Annual Christi Corrigan Blitz tournament especially after last year when the Comets couldn’t host the tournament due to the pandemic.
“Since we didn’t have the tournament last year, we weren’t able to talk to the girls about Christi and who she was, so to have her dad come into the locker room this year and talk to our players about who she was and what she meant to the community and family was great,” said Cioffi. “This tournament is part of the process of being in the Comet program. It’s not just about playing hockey, it’s about who you are as a person, how you treat others and what you do daily to make yourself better.”
The Comets will be back in action Saturday when they head to CVU.
