Local girls aim for gold at Games

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

While the real Olympic Winter Games occupy people’s PVRs these days, four local girls will be treated to the life of an Olympian when the biennial Alberta Winter Games take place this weekend.
Cayley Boschee, McKenna Blades, Camille Gauvin and Grace Olson will represent Zone 2 ringette on the ice in Fort McMurray, as the Games run from Feb. 16-19 at the Anzac Recreation Centre.
For Blades and Olson, it’s a return trip, as they were part of the Zone 2 unit that narrowly missed out on a medal in 2016.
“They will serve as some of the leaders on our team this year along with the three other returning players, as they have been there before,” said Zone 2 Assistant Coach Rhonda Olson, who will be coaching in her third and final games. “They are the oldest ones in our dressing rooms and will be looked at to lead them this weekend.”
They haven’t forgotten about their fourth-place finish in Medicine Hat. In fact, it has motivated the returning group to lead a younger, less experienced team at this year’s event.
“I was pretty excited when I found out that I made the team again. I really wanted another opportunity to go and really enjoyed my time at the tournament last year,” said Olson, a Grade 11 student at Strathmore High School.
The four locals will be joined by girls aged 14 to 17 from Airdrie, Chestermere, Rockyford, Cochrane, Strathmore and surrounding Calgary areas.
“We have a great mix of girls on our team. We have used up our six practices before the games and are hopefully ready to go,” said Olson. “Camille will be one of our stronger forwards as she brings a great shot to our team. Cayley will not jump up in the rush much, but she is a smart, reliable defenceman who takes care of business in her own end.”
After tryouts were held last November, the team was announced shortly after, giving the team a few practices and games to get acquainted with one another. It can be challenging for athletes of such a wide-ranging age group to briefly come together before a tournament and expect quick-drying chemistry, but it is something they are working on.
“We’ve held three practices so far and two games; one against the Zone 3 team and the other against a local U19 team. We went 1-1, so things are looking pretty good so far,” said Gauvin, the youngest of the group, a Grade 9 student at Crowther Memorial Junior High School.
“The team looks pretty good this year. We have lots of different players with a diverse set of skills. Hopefully we can perform on the ice,” said Olson, who plays with the Zone 2 U19 squad out of Rockyford during the regular season.
Upfront, Zone 2 will be led by Gauvin and Olson, as Boschee is the lone blue liner out of the bunch with Blades backstopping them in the blue paint.
“We all texted each other and congratulated each other when we found out that we made the team. We were all happy for Cayley, as she was one of the cuts last year,” said Blades.
“I’m really looking forward to the experience this year. Last year I didn’t make it and wasn’t that happy about it, but I’m glad the coaches noticed the improvement in my game over the past two years,” said Boschee. “Back then, I wasn’t that fast and I had trouble staying with my player. A lot has changed and I have worked on things. Now I am able to keep up.”
Zone 2 will get things going Feb. 17 when they host Zone 5 — an Edmonton zone — in the first game of the tournament, which is set for 8 a.m.
“The northern teams will be tough, playing with more double-A players than us, but we have some players with double-A experience as well. There will be some great competition and we hope to do well,” said Olson. “A medal would be great.”