The Manchester Storm Academy U16 girls registered their first win, with a nail biting 1-0 victory over Nottingham in Altrincham on Saturday.

Playing in just their second game, the Academy team showed that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with this season with a mature performance.

After starting the game well, Storm took the lead in the first period when Sophie Davies converted a chance, after skating clear following a pass from Fance Iliffe and finished high into the net. I was Davies’ first goal for the team and Iliffe’s first point at any level of hockey.

The Academy had numerous chances to extend that lead in both the first and second period, but were thwarted by some good goaltending. At the other end Alice Somerford collected a 22 shot shutout , turning away everything Nottingham threw at her.

Both teams worked extremely hard all the way through the game and both had chances in the third period, but in the end there was no further scoring.

Somerford was awarded the MVP award for her terrific performance in net. The rest of the team deserve huge plaudits for the way they played, with so many inexperienced players in the team it is a fantastic result for the Storm Academy.

Congratulations to all the players for what was an historic and memorable afternoon in Alty.