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| Previously undefeated Thunder struck down in Mac’s final |
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By Derrick Newman
The Edmonton Thunder fell one victory short of winning the female division of the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament, and one win short of going 30 games without a single defeat.
The Thunder, who play in the Alberta Major Midget Hockey League, had an awe-inspiring 20-0-4 record in the regular season heading into the annual holiday tournament.
“We are all proud of what we have accomplished on the ice especially coming to the Mac’s with the undefeated record,” said Thunder head coach Bryan Keller.
This incredible streak made losing the Mac’s Midget final to the Saskatoon Stars even more painful.
Thunder captain Heather Kashman, 17, the team’s leading scorer in the tournament, was named Most Valuable Player of the Mac’s in an in-game ceremony, but still couldn’t hide her sadness.
“Yeah, we are definitely disappointed,” Kashman said following the loss. “We definitely struggled through the adversity. Some girls shouldn’t even be playing (due to injury) .”
The Thunder rolled through the tournament going unbeaten in the round robin stage and then upended the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs, led by tournament leading scorer Ashley Graf, 2-1 in the semi-final.
All that stood in their way was the Saskatoon Stars – also unbeaten in the Mac’s going into the final.
A slow start on Scotiabank Saddledome Ice on New Year’s Day put the Thunder in an early two-goal deficit.
“Our team had a slow start and got stronger as the game went on and I felt we outplayed Saskatoon overall,” Keller said following the loss.
The Thunder stormed back tying the game at 2-2 early in the third period.
Cue the drama.
Edmonton was awarded a 5-on-3 man advantage for just over a minute midway through the final frame.
However, the Thunder came up empty and the Stars capitalized soon after when defenceman Lauren Zary slid home the eventual game-winning tally.
“It was pretty much just a scramble in front of the net,” Zary said. “It was anyone’s goal really, I just happened to put it in the net. It was the team’s goal.”
Zary could barely contain her euphoria.
“I can’t even tell you how cool it is,” she said describing the feeling of winning the prestigious tournament. “It’s awesome. I don’t even know what to do right now.”
The Saskatoon Stars were crowned Mac’s champions and head coach Doug McGillvary looked to the huge penalty kill as the key moment in their victory.
“This is adversity. If we get through this it’s a huge momentum shift for us,” McGillvary said, talking about his message to his players before the crucial kill. “We know what they are doing on the power play, so we just have to execute what we are supposed to do and we did an outstanding job.
“Turning point in the game.”
The Thunder, 22-0-5 as of mid January, will finish off the season with five more games this month followed by playoff competition.
“We can still go undefeated in league play with the games remaining this month - no other male or female Midget AAA team has done that before,” Keller said. “I feel with us getting so close to winning that championship, it will only fuel our players towards winning a national championship.”
As for Kashman, she is simply looking forward to getting some redemption against the team that ended her chance at a Mac’s title.
“We’ll just come back, make it to nationals, hopefully see them again in the national finals and beat them there,” she said. |
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