Girls 16u t2

Knights take 16 and Under title with 1-0 win over Midland in Marquette

Cool heads paid off for the Livonia Knights at the MAHA Girl’s 16 and Under state tournament.

When the Knights went into a second overtime with the Marquette Sentinels in the semifinals, Livonia goaltender Nicole Million stoned every shot until Meghan Jahn scored from the blue line.

Million stepped up her performance in the championship game, leading Livonia to a 1-0 nerve-wracking victory over Midland in the final of the 16 and Under state tournament on March 11 in Marquette.

“She just comes up with great games at the perfect time,” Knights coach Tim Jahn said. “But our defense is strong and keeps the puck out of the zone.”

“They kept us in it just as much as most people were saying I did,” agreed Million.

A big test for Livonia came in the final minute. As it nursed a 1-0 lead, the Knights were called for a penalty with 49.2 seconds on the clock. Midland pulled its goalie for a two-man advantage.

“I was nervous,” Million admitted.

So was her coach.

“All I wanted was to just get it over the blue line, like we’ve been doing all year, every practice, every game,” Jahn said. “And (winger) Brittani (Sims) knocked it out of the zone and put pressure on them.”

Five Livonia players were U14 champions last year and moved up to U16 along with Jahn.

“It’s our second year in a row,” Wright said. “It feels really great to be out here winning it again.”

Renee Wright scored on the power play at 7:10 of the second period.

“I was setting up in front of the net,” Wright said. “It came out as a rebound (off a shot by Sims). I backhanded it. It hit off the inside post and went in. I don’t think I could have been any happier.”

The Knights seemed to get to loose pucks a bit sooner than the Midland skaters.

Wright said her team’s aggressiveness came as a lesson from its double-overtime game earlier.

“In our semifinal game, we were getting killed to the puck every time,” Wright said. “But we pulled it together.”

In the semifinal, Livonia got by Marquette, 3-2, in double overtime when defenseman Meghan Jahn slapped the puck in from several feet past the blue line. Katie Yee tallied the other two goals for Livonia, including the game-tying score with 23 seconds left in the third period.

Midland did have a few scoring chances. In the second period, the Spirit had 40 seconds of 5-on-3 play, but nothing came of it. In the third period, Midland got 35 seconds of another two-man advantage, but struggled to put a shot on the net.

“We have faced Midland and they’re a tough team,” Jahn said. “They’ve got a ton of good skaters. They’ve got a good team. It was a tough game.”

Jahn thought his Knights should have scored more goals, but some of that may have been the opposing goaltender. Midland netminder Karissa Grapp stopped 26 shots for the Spirit and earned the tournament MVP.

Girls 16 and Under Notebook

Hope Kruger and Kayla Nordquist scored for Marquette Sentinels in their 3-2 semifinal loss to Livonia… In the other semifinal, Midland defeated St. Clair Shores, 2-1, in overtime when Mariah Mumford scored. Bianca Williamson had the other goal. Andrea Kot scored for St. Clair Shores… In pool play, Nicole Million stopped 11 shots to lead Livonia by Traverse City, 4-0… Midland tied with Marquette Country Inn, 1-1. Kruger scored for Marquette, while Williamson tallied for Midland… Midland shut out Marquette Auto, 2-0. Meghan Trombley and Bianca Williamson scored for Midland, while Grapp pitched the shutout in net… Marquette Country Inn sank Ann Arbor, 10-0. Carley Saint-Onge had a hat trick for Marquette, while Brooke Etelamaki added two goals… Staci Burlingame scored a pair of goals to lead St. Clair Shores by Traverse City, 3-1. Ashley Dotson scored for T.C… St. Clair Shores beat Livonia, 5-3. Kot notched a goal and assist for the Saintes. Yee scored twice for Livonia… The Marquette Sentinels shut out Marquette Auto, 5-0. Melissa Houle and Whitney Brugman split time in net for the Sentinels and made nine saves. Marlowe Pentecost notched a pair of assists… Midland felled Ann Arbor, 6-0. Brittany Knopp notched two goals and an assist in the victory… Ann Arbor toppled Marquette Auto, 7-0. Abbie Richardson tallied two goals and an assist in the victory.

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