Hornets Drowned by River Rats

The Saline Hornets were ousted from the Regional tournament by the Ann Arbor Huron River Rats 16-8 on a rainy Thursday night.  The Hornets fell behind early and were never able to dig themselves out of the hole.

“It’s the way we started the season, in the ice and rain and we finished it in the freezing rain.  It’s just the way it is,” said head coach Deb Elliot.

The first half started off dry, but Saline started off a flat and Ann Arbor jumped out to an eight goal lead.  Chelsey Bishop scored the Hornets’ first two goals sixteen seconds apart before the River Rats scored again and went up 9-2.  Amelia Waters scored the final goal of the half and pulled Saline to within six.

“[Chelsey] had a great season.  She’s scored over a hundred goals.  She’s been phenomenal and she’s really tried to diversify her game,” said Elliot.

The second half started off with Ann Arbor going on a three goal run to pull ahead 12-3.  Saline answered quickly, with Bishop’s third goal at 19:38 and Eryn Healy scoring at 18:21.  From there, it was a back-and-forth affair in the rain.  The River Rats scored two goals to go up 14-5, and the Hornets answered with Sarah Ball’s tally.  Huron scored its final two goals of the evening before Briana Martin and Bishop scored Saline’s seventh and eighth goals of the game fifteen seconds apart.  The game ended with Ann Arbor winding down the clock with possession deep in the Hornet defensive zone.

“We’ve had quite a few players who are brand new to the sport and will be back next year.  I think the future is really bright.  To have a season where we’re 9-7 going into the playoffs in a second year program is phenomenal, really,” said Elliot.