Raiders claim silver

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Rocky Mountain Raiders midget triple-A female hockey team exceeded their own expectations at this year’s Mac’s tournament by making it to the finals for the first time, resulting in a silver medal.
Shortly after the Raiders took to the ice on Jan. 1, they secured a 1-0 lead going into the second period.
Despite making it through the round robin with a strong finish, which catapulted them into the finals, the team was unable to sustain the momentum and instead walked away with a second place finish.
“It was definitely nice to make it to the finals,” said assistant coach Casey Irving.
“Especially coming off of last year and then this year getting that much further and getting a chance to play in the final, and play for that trophy, was a lot of fun.”
While teamwork proved significant for the Raiders in the tournament, it wavered during the last two periods of the final game.
Strathmore product Hailey McCallum, one of four local players on the team, noticed the drop in energy on the ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“After the first period everybody was just all excited and we’re like ‘okay we can bring this home, 40 more minutes,'” said McCallum. “But after those two goals everybody just seemed to not care and it was a big disappointment for the ones who really wanted it.”
The team was fortunate to have a strong core group of returning girls who pushed the other girls to be better, resulting in them coming together to find success right up until the final game.
“They took care of themselves in between those games and made sure they were able to perform at their best,” said Irving.
“Just as a team they really pulled up their socks and pushed that much further to get to the finals. The biggest strength is that we have a good core returning group of girls and they all experienced the Mac’s last year and having that experience were able to push the new girls and have them come along and come together as a team.”
She said local goalie Erin Fargey played an instrumental role in helping the team by making the initial save and furthering the team along in the tournament.
Other locals Libby Wheeler and Paige Russell were also a part of the returning group with experience in the league.
Irving thinks they can learn from their mistakes and focus on getting back in the finals next year.