By / Kristi Patton
The fight for second place in the Western Women’s Hockey League is officially on.
And, as the first month of play blew by it looks like it will be the case of another battle of Alberta.
Zooming to first place in October with a perfect record (6-0-0-0) are last years’ champions, the Calgary Oval X-Treme, leaving the real fight brewing for second place. Both the Strathmore Rockies (2-3-0-0) and Edmonton Chimos (3-2-0-0) know the importance of winning these inter-provincial battles.
“These games are pretty important, especially when you look at the standings the past couple of years. It has been the Oval, Minnesota and then Edmonton or Strathmore,” said Rockies captain Samantha Holmes. “Last year we were really quite successful against the Chimos. We worked really hard on the puck and off of it and we just have to get back to that a little more.”
Holmes said they weren’t too sure what they were going to see from the Chimos, since the addition of a few new players to their team, but to kick off November they quickly found out.
The two teams butted heads for the first-time this season.
The Chimos were without their top blue line patrollers (Saige Pacholok and Meaghan Mikkelson), who were away at the U-18 National Championships and the 4 Nations Cup with Team Canada. Yet, the call for offensive firepower did not fall on deaf ears.
So, when the Chimos called for points against the Rockies over the weekend series, they could count on the playmaking skills of Kristen Hagg (four assists), Juliane Jubinville (two goals, one assist) and Jill Sales (three assists, one goal). A star performance from Hagg on the weekend put her at the top of the points leader board in the WWHL. Meanwhile in Lake Placid, Mikkelson managed to tally a goal but Canada ended up losing in the final to the United States. Pacholok also netted a goal but her U-18 Team Alberta squad just fell short of playing for a medal.
For the Rockies, Holmes said new recruits Brenna McLean and Becky Irvine have been a welcomed addition to the club.
“Brenna is a very well-rounded player that can play both forward and defense which has been great because we have been dealing with injuries. Becky is also a strong two-way player,” said Holmes.
The Minnesota Whitecaps break into the new season with their first games of the year held in November with a home stand against the Chimos and then they travel to B.C. to play the Breakers later in the month. The Breakers have yet to earn a win this year.
Also playing for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Cup in Lake Placid, New York was X-Treme forward Gina Kingsbury and defenceman Tessa Bonhomme. |