strong performances from the under 17s with 3 wins out of 4.

Ely under 17s entertained 4 teams at Soham in the recent tournament.  Ely were back to full strength after injuries had left them with no goalie and subs at the first tournament earlier the season.

The first game against Invicta from Kent was a tight affair from the start, however Elys pressure finally paid off and they took a 2 goal lead thanks to Paul Masterton and Max Dunand. However Invicta fought back  to 2 - 1and with only a few seconds of the first half remaining found an equaliser. The second half was even tighter with chances at both ends, Invictas England Goal keeper was having a great game, however Ely finally won a penalty which was coolly slotted away by Masterton for a 3 – 2 win.

Game 2 against Norwich again started tight with James Walsh in goal matching his opposite number keeping all the shots out. However Ely were dominating possession and this eventually told with goals from Dunand and Callum Thoday giving them a 2 – 0 lead at half time. In the second half Ely continued to press forward. Hannah Barrow collected a ball in her own half and beat all the Norwich players and put the ball into the top corner 3 – 0. Norwichs attacks were limited but Walsh pulled off some good saves when needed. The game was wrapped up when Barrow repeated  her earlier effort, final score 4 – 0.

The next game was against a tough Herne Bay side with some experienced strong players. Ely started with all their girls on rink. They frustrated the opposition with some good defending but were eventually undone and Herne Bay took the lead. Ely brought some fresh legs on and this undid the opposition with goals by Dunand giving a 2 – 1 lead at half time. Slack defending early in the second half turned the game around with Herne Bay finding 3 well taken goals. An Ely own goal left a mountain to climb and despite another goal by Dunand and one by Thoday late on Ely lost 6 – 4.

Kings Lynn B the next opposition had a strong team but again Ely found an early lead which was soon doubled. The game then turned as Lynn found 3 goals a lead which they took well into the second half. Ely then started to play some of their best hockey of the day with good counter attacking rewarding them with 5 further goals and a great 8 – 3 win (Max Dunand 5, Heather Dunand , Thoday and Barrow).