Ice gain experience at provincials

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

The top U16B ringette talent took over the Strathmore Family Centre last weekend for the provincial championships.
Receiving an automatic bid as hosts, the results didn’t go too well for the local Ice squad.
“It was a tough weekend. Our girls played hard, but we went up against the Top 11 teams from the province,” said Ice head coach Dean Hansen. “We got better as the tournament went on, but we couldn’t buy a goal in the end.”
Beaumont downed the Ice 6-1 March 10 in the opener, followed by the Fort McMurray Fusion crushing the Ice 9-2 that afternoon.
Taking on the Bowview Ambush March 11, the Ice were blanked 7-0.
“When you play the best of the best, there’s nothing you can do but learn from it,” said Hansen. “I thought as the tournament went along, we were picking up on the other team’s plays and we stepped it up each time.”
Later that afternoon, the Ice played the Northwest D12 squad hard, but got clipped 4-1.
Despite out-shooting the Bowview Elite 43-41, the Ice were shut out in the final game of the tournament, 1-0.
“What I always liked to see from this team, was that no matter the outcome, our girls always left the locker room with a smile on their face,” said Hansen. “We wish we could have played better, but we still had a great year and this was a great team.”