Detroit Little Caesars Lose 4-2 to Shattuck St. Mary's in USA Hockey Finals at the Onyx

In hockey, momentum can make all the difference in the world.

Detroit Little Caesars were never able to capture that momentum in their 4-2 loss to Shattuck St. Mary’s on Sunday in the 19-and-under girls finals of the USA Hockey Tier 1 2011 National Championships at the Rochester Onyx Ice Arena.

“It’s a game of momentum," said Little Caesars Coach Matthew Berger. "I thought they got it first, and we did a good job of fighting to get it back; unfortunately, they did a good job of getting on it and keeping it for most of the game."

Berger pointed to the girls' slow start as the biggest difference in the match-up. Little Caesars only had four shots in the opening period and allowed two first-period goals for the first time in the tournament.

St. Mary’s scored on an unassisted goal from Kayla Sullivan (7:14). Then, on the ensuing face off, Brook Garzone and Kimberly Drake set up Kathleen Turnbull for another goal (7: 39). Many fans of the Little Caesars in attendance were stunned by the back-to-back goals.

Before Sunday, Little Caesars only faced a deficit for a grand total of 20 seconds in five games (255 minutes), and they had never been down two goals.

“I don’t think we showed up and played our best,” Berger said.

Even when the Little Caesars were able to cut into St. Mary’s lead with a goal from Nicole Renault (4:25) in the second period, the joy was short-lived. Shattuck came right back and scored on a perfectly-executed one-timer between Drake and Sullivan on a 2-on-1 breakaway.

St. Mary’s executed a similar play in the third period to extend the lead to three goals on a 3-on-2 breakaway. In the third, it was Ellen Williams who scored (8:49) the goal from Courtney Burke.

Little Caesars goalie Taylor Fairchild had little chance to stop either goal. She did her best to defend the numbers, but St. Mary’s played the passing lanes perfectly, so Fairchild had to try defend both sides of the net.

In the final seconds of the game, Caitlyn Post scored (16:38) a power play goal, but with only 22 seconds left in the game, Little Caesars didn’t have time for a comeback.

The 19-and-under final was the last game of the tournament at the Onyx Arena. Earlier in the day, the three other divisions played their final games at the Onyx.  

• 16 and Under - Honeybaked won the championship over the Chicago Mission. The teams were the two top seeds in the division and in the finals, it was all Honeybaked, who won 3-0.
• 14 and Under – The most exciting final of the day was between the Connecticut Stars and Assabet Valley. The teams went into overtime, where the Stars pulled out a 3-2 win to capture the championship.
• 12 and Under – The Assabet Valley program didn’t leave the tournament empty handed. The 12-and-under team beat the New Jersey Colonials 4-1 in the first final of the day.