The national under-18 AAA female hockey championship, the Esso Cup, will be played in Lloydminster from April 20 to 26. The Saskatchewan Champion Saskatoon Stars will represent the Western Region.
Stars' first-year head coach Alana Serhan told the SportsCage that she feels that the national championship is a continuation of her plan for the season.
“It's something that we've talked about since day one. So, to finally be heading down the highway to Lloydminster, it does seem like a dream come true or a plan laid out, and now we're going.”
The Stars won the program's fifth Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA League title by topping the first seed, Battlefords Sharks, in the third and deciding game of their league final series.
The Stars then advanced to the Western Regional Esso Cup Qualifier against the Eastman Selects. Saskatoon fell 2-1 in the opening game of their best-of-three, before rebounding with 5-4 and 6-0 wins in games two and three to earn their berth into the Esso Cup.
The late-season adversity and must-win games have the team in a good spot, according to Serhan.
“Something that we've talked about with the girls is that pressure is a privilege. By getting ourselves to those tough games, those tough moments, elimination games, we've always found a way to dig in. It speaks volumes about the want, the will, and the determination that our group has to win hockey games.”
Serhan adds that those moments have helped establish their identity.
“We've definitely had hard moments throughout the season, with regular season losses, overtime losses, and overtime games. But our want to win is so strong that we are prepared and willing to do whatever it takes. And I think that typically shows up for us as in our highly explosive offence.”
The Stars are among the six teams from across the country that will vie for the Esso Cup, and Serhan has used her previous national championship experience as a player and coach to prepare the team for the tournament.
“We're always trying to be mindful of what the opposition throws at us. Whether they use a 1-3-1 power play or they're killing in a diamond penalty kill. But a lot of the time, that's just an underlay of what we're trying to accomplish. We always want to be the team to go out and set the pace. We are going to set the tone. We are going to set the pace of the game. And we want to make other teams adapt to us.”
In a short seven-game, seven-day tournament, Serhan knows that part of that adaptation will have to come from special teams.
“I think for us, the PK did a really good job down the stretch. So that PK has got to be sharp, which comes down to blocking shots. Inversely, our special teams on the power play have to be good. Those special teams will need to be tight.”
Serhan says that there is one metric that they track closely that translates directly to their success.
“Shots on goal. We need to get 40 shots on goal every single game to give ourselves a good chance to win. The goalies in this league, the teams in this league, and the way they defend and keep you to the outside are great at this level. We know that 40 shots on goal is our number and we stick very, very closely to putting as many pucks on the net as we can.”
In the compressed tournament format, Serhan will lean on the leaders in the dressing room to help manage emotions and focus within the group.
“We have an incredible group. Our veteran group, our graduating girls, are all in. They want to win. Some of them have gone through this process before or through the postseason process before and haven't really come up with the result that they wanted. And I think that that drives them. It fires them up in those tough moments.”
“Halle Duchene, she's a perform under pressure player. She is a wizard with the puck on her stick and has a knack for the net and a hunger on the puck, Serhan added, “our captain, Maggie Freeman, who's elevated her game in this postseason and our assistant captain, Claire Moorman, has played steady defence for us all season. Kolbee Ashe on the wing is a high-octane player who likes to play physically. She can put pucks in the net.”
“The on-ice and off-ice leadership we have coming from every corner of the dressing room gives us that edge on making sure that everyone is showcasing that they are making a difference and making an impact.”
The Stars open the tournament against Ontario’s North York Storm on Sunday, April 20. Saskatoon will face Quebec’s Etoiles de Laurentides-Lanaudiere on Monday, the Edmonton Junior Oilers on Tuesday, and the host Lloydminster Steelers on Wednesday. Then, they will wrap up the round robin on Thursday against the Atlantic’s Eastern Stars.
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