U16B end year with silver medal at provincials

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

The Strathmore U16B Ice took home the silver medal at the Alberta Ringette Provincials in Westlock on March 10 after losing a heartbreaker 10-6 to the Lethbridge Rattlers.
The Ice were impressive at the provincials, going 5-0 until they ran into a familiar foe.
“We have played Lethbridge five times this year and unfortunately we only beat them one out of five so we knew going in it was tough match,” said Ice head coach Ben Sader. “They are a very experienced club and in fact they were the defending champions in U16 from last season.”
The Ice struck first blood and then scored another to lead by two goals 12 minutes into the gold medal game. According to Sader, the Ice could have been up by five goals but the Rattlers goalie stood on her head and kept the score close early.
“We probably could have been up 5-0 if hadn’t been for their goaltender,” said Sader.
The Rattlers eventually found their offence, kicked it into the next gear and began to put the ring in the net. The Ice just couldn’t keep up to the new pace set by the defending champions. Sader said he believed Lethbridge had more offensively-focused weapons in their arsenal than any other team they played against. This heavy attack approach found a way through the more well-rounded Ice team.
“It was a heartbreak when we got silver because we wanted to win but it wasn’t a shock because we knew Lethbridge was strong,” said 15-year-old captain Camille Gauvin. “It kind of hurt when we lost but it was still a fun weekend.”
Gauvin praised the work and effort of her teammates but wished she could have done more to win. This was the first time she played on a team that had been this successful but will be moving up an age group next year which presents some new challenges that the young centre is excited to tackle.
“I’ve only been to provincials three times personally and the furthest I got was fourth in provincials but that was a lucky streak,” said Gauvin.
Despite the loss and believing they had the team to win, Sader and Gauvin were both proud of the year the club had. It wasn’t just a silver medal the team won recently but the 2019 zone 2 championship when the Ice crushed the Indus Lightning 9-3 on March 2 in Hussar. The Ice held a record of 12-3-1 for third place in their 14-team division.
“We didn’t get there by fluke. We beat all the best teams to get to that final and then we lost to the best team,” said Sader.