By Kristi Patton /
Left with a sour taste from the Mac’s Tournament earlier this year, the Notre Dame Hounds weren’t about to let the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs take another shot at a championship away from them.
The cost of sweet success at the Western Canadian midget female hockey championships came down to a lucky bounce in overtime that served up the Hounds a gold medal on April 6 in St. Albert.
It was a bounce that found its way to the back of the net just 1:13 into overtime, pushing the Hounds of Wilcox, Sask. to a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs.
“We had a very good year and I can bet that a lot of teams wished they could have had the season we had. Even though we were disappointed by the outcome of this [Western championship final] game it didn’t undo what we did all year,” said Chiefs head coach Mickey Girard.
This was the eighth time the Hounds, with their roster of players that come from across Canada, have taken home the Western championship.
Hounds rookie Jaclyn Stapleton, who netted the overtime winner, is from Kelowna, B.C., and talented Chelsea Karpenko, who assisted on the game-winner and potted the other two Hounds goals, is from Winnipeg, Man.
“For sure, they are a very good team but if we were able to recruit across Canada, then we would be just as competitive,” said Girard. “But I don’t criticize them for that. We do pick from a small group out of central Alberta and we seem to be just as competitive as they are, especially if you look at this last season.”
After leading 3-2 in the third, thanks to a short-handed effort by Kendice Ogilvie, the Chiefs could not hold off the barking Hounds. Other Chiefs goals came from Rylee Scott and Jenelle Parent.
The Chiefs and Hounds stacked up nicely at the Western Shield championships, just as they did at the Mac’s Tournament earlier this year.
Except that had a different outcome with the Chiefs defeating the Hounds 3-1 to earn their own berth into the final game against another Saskatchewan foe, Swift Current.
The Chiefs ended up taking silver in that battle as well.
The Chiefs proved they were a threat this season on both sides of the ice. On defence, Amanda Young had an outstanding season, earning a top defenceman, MVP and First Team All-star nod at the Mac’s tournament. The blueliner is a graduating player on the Chiefs and will now turn her attention to becoming a rookie for the Cornell Big Red, next season.
Girard also picked up an award at the Mac’s tournament for his position behind the bench.
“We were very consistent. I think we only had a handful of losses all year, including playoffs,” said Girard. “It wasn’t just our top line either. It was a team effort of support from everyone that kept it balanced. We had a strong forecheck, good goaltending and everyone worked hard.”
Joining the Chiefs for her final year as a Midget was Lacombe-product Janelle Parent who led the team in points at the Western Championships. The forward also scored several game-clinching goals down the stretch in playoffs.
“[Janelle] is a pure goal scorer with a great set of hands. She scored goals sometimes that I have never seen boys score before,” said Girard, of the trigger happy left-winger who has plans of heading to post-secondary hockey next year. Also suiting up on the blueline next year for Cornell will be Katie Allen and forward Kendice Ogilvie.
Jumping to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference next year are Chiefs top line forward Madison Ouellette, who will play for the Mount Royal Cougars, and Leah Boucher, who will either wear the Red Deer Queens uniform or ACAC champion a Grant MacEwan Griffins jersey.
The host St. Alberta Kal-Tire Slash lost in the bronze-medal game at the Western Canadian championships to the Richmond Pacific Steelers from B.C.
“St. Albert did an excellent job in hosting, providing a first-class event and the crowds that we saw were very good with well over 400 people watching the final,” said Girard. |