mk tournAment 2005 - REVIEW

The Penguins participated in the MK Tournament. It was held over the weekend of May 21st and 22nd. There others teams taking part included Blackburn Thunder, Coventry Phoenix, Sheffield Shadows, Wrekin Raiders and of course the hosts Milton Keynes Falcons.

The Penguins were in the first match of the tournament and weren't fully prepared and as a result lost to the hosts, Milton Keynes Falcons. Their second match was a better after when they took on the eventual tournament winners and narrowly missed out on a point by losing 2-1.

Sunday saw the continuation of the tournament again with the Penguins being in the first match. This was to be the Penguin 100 competitive match ever and they celebrated it with a 1-0 win over Blackburn Thunder.

They Penguins were now on a roll as they took on Coventry Phoenix and held the match for a long time with a 1-1 scoreline and then a bad pass out from behind the net saw Coventry get the upper hand as they shot the puck which the referees deemed to of completely cross the goal line. With less than two minutes to go the Penguins pulled the goalie to gain the extra man advantage and this obviously confused Coventry as they then took a penalty for "too many men" With only seconds left on the clock the Penguins shot and scored and got the illusive equalising goal.

Next up for the Penguins were Sheffield Shadows which saw the Penguins take a 4-1 lead against the Northern side however it saw them creep back to make it 4-3 but still wasn't enough and meant the Penguins hade their third set of point for the day.

This great form found by the team on the second day meant they were rewarded with a place in the semi finals where they took on Coventry Phoenix. This time however they were not as lucky and lost 3-1.

This defeat however enable the Penguins to play for 3rd and 4th place and because Milton Keynes Falcons lost against Wrekin Raiders in the other semi final, it meant the Penguins were able to get a rematch against the hosts. This match was at 0-0 for a long time but then a great goal from Milton Keynes into the top left corner saw them take third and the Penguins 4th.

We did however have one Penguin in the Final as Penguins Abi Brewer helped out Wrekin Raiders who were minus a goalie. Abi played in goal for them throughout the tournament and even saw her lift the trophy at the end of the weekend as her adopted team beat Coventry in the final.

But the weekend saw a fine display by the whole team once they all settled in, including Robin Stein who played a blinder. Emma Wildman and Barbara Richter who scored eight goals between them. Congratulations to Tiffany Young who won Spirit of the Tournament for the team. The team also won the tournaments fair play award.

Click here for details of the results. More detailed stats will be following soon.

Click here for photos from the weekend.