By Josh Howald

While both teams ended up a little black and blue, it was Black who prevailed in the Kincardine novice houseleague final Saturday afternoon.

Casey Beisel drives to the net, chased by a Blue defender in Saturday's novice houseleague championship game. Besiel had the game's only goal, leading her team to a 1-0 vicctory and leageu championship. (Josh Howald photo)

Black capped off a great season of houseleague hockey with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Blue at the Davidson Centre in Kincardine.

Both teams worked hard in a classic battle, but it was the goaltenders who stole the show. Danil Melinkov posted a shut out for Black in the victory, while Alex Colley was phenomenal in the Blue net. Colley stopped several point blank chances, including several impressive breakaway stops and one acrobatic lunging stick save to keep his team in the game.

“It was a good game,” said Thomas Ostrowski following the game. “We played (Blue) a bunch of times, and they only beat us once.”

After a scoreless first period, Casey Beisel grabbed a loose puck and skated it into the Blue end. She fired a shot that went up and over Colley’s stick and a defender just 12 seconds into the period. There were times where it didn’t look like a one-goal lead would be enough, but Melinkov stood tall in the net, with help from his defenders.

“Both goalies were awesome,” said David Ulak. “We had to win a bunch of games to get here, and we wanted to win and have fun.”