Paisley fires game-winning shootout goal as Junior Panthers edge Brampton Canadettes 2-1

November 27, 2025 · 0 Comments

Lily Paisley returned from injury on Wednesday night at SARC and the Central York Junior Panthers couldn’t be happier.

The talented goal-scorer fired the game-winner in the eighth round of a shootout to edge the Brampton Canadettes 2-1.

Panthers Head Coach Steve Dempsey described the game-winning-goal and Paisley’s resilience in her first game back after a five-game stint on the IL.

“It was a great goal. She came down the far side and made a nice move backhand to forehand and went inside the right post. It was a gut feeling to put Lily into the shootout, even though she was playing through a serious shoulder injury. She didn’t have to worry about contact and we had limited her shifts during regulation and overtime. She was only on the ice twice before getting back in the game for the shootout. Lily’s had the opportunity to be on the big stage before where’s been a great performer.”

The other local hero on Wednesday night was Panthers’ goaltender Jamie Sanford. The athletic netminder allowed just one goal in regulation, overtime, and all eight rounds of the shootout to earn the two-point win.

Coach Dempsey praised Sanford’s play between the pipes: “Jamie’s been on the big stage, too, and she thrives in these kinds of situations. She’s an even-keeled kid and Jamie made the right saves at the right time. She kept making save after save after save in the shootout and shut down a Brampton team that had been on a hot streak.”

Indeed, Sanford prevailed in this goaltenders’ duel during which her Canadette counterpart, Sydney Sammut, turned aside 45 of the 46 shots she faced to earn a point for Brampton.

It was Central York’s second consecutive win after snapping a five-game slump on home ice last Sunday with a 4-3 win over the North York Storm.

Brampton’s Kaitlin Bayer opened the scoring at 7:18 of the first period to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

High-scoring Audrey Martone finished a pass from playmaker Ellie Lewington to tie the game at 8:43 of the second period. Lewington earned her 10th assist of the season on Martone’s 12th goal. Martone is the Panthers’ second-leading scorer with 21 points and moved into 16th in the OWHA U22 Elite scoring race with her game-tying tally.

After a scoreless third period during which the Panthers outshot the visitors 18-4 but went 0 for 4 on the power play, the home side dominated Brampton in OT. Despite outshooting the Canadettes 6-0 in the extra period of play, Sammut saved her side from sudden death and frustrated Central York shooters through seven rounds of the shootout, as well.

Coach Dempsey rued his power play’s ineffectiveness, but offered some context for the specialty team’s 0-for-6 performance versus the Canadettes.

“We had a 5-on-3 power play and I called a timeout. The power play stalled because we haven’t had enough practice on it this year, especially with our expanded 48-game regular season. We have more games and fewer practices which is not the best situation for skills development. It’s one of the things we need to work on to get better. We only have one practice this week and we can only work on so many things.”

Despite the lack of practice time, Coach Dempsey’s Junior Panthers improved their third-place record to 16-4-0-3 with the shootout win over Brampton.

Central York roared back into action on Saturday night when they hosted the second-place Nepean Wildcats (17-3-1-0).

Despite a hat trick from leading scorer Annabella Van Berkel and Paisley’s second goal in as many games, the visitors prevailed 6-4.

Van Berkel scored a goal in each period and Paisley pumped in a power play goal in the second period, but the Panthers never led in this one.

Abby Pak and Zoe Ordanis continued their productive seasons by tallying two assists each for Central York. Despite the team’s impressive offensive effort on Saturday afternoon, the Panthers surrendered three power play goals and an empty netter to the high-flying Wildcats.

With her three-goal performance, “Big Goal” Van Berkel moved into a tie for 5th spot in the OWHA U22 Elite scoring race with 22 goals and 7 assists in 21 games played.

By Jim Stewart