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| The Saskatoon Stars were all smiles after their playoff win on Wednesday. |
On Wednesday night at the Agriplace Arena, the Stars bombed
the Sharks 12-0 to sweep a best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey
League quarter-final series 3-0 between the two clubs. The series was a
mismatch on paper and played out that way on the ice. The Stars topped the
SFMAAAHL’s regular season standings with a 24-4 mark, while the Sharks finished
last in the eight-team circuit with a 3-23-3 record.
During the three-game series, the Stars outscored the Sharks
28-3. Those two squads also faced each other in their final two regular season
games, which meant Wednesday’s game was a fifth straight head-to-head meeting.
Overall, the Stars took all seven of their games with the Sharks including
action in the regular season and playoffs.
In the final tilt between the two teams on Wednesday, the
Stars led 4-0 after the first period and 9-0 after the second. The defending
SFMAAAHL champs also held a 72-13 edge in shots on goal.
Abby Shirley and Grace Shirley both scored twice and each
had a pair of assists for the Stars. Mackenna Parker, Brooke Hausermann, Joelle
Fiala, Danielle Nogier, Kalista Senger, Anna Leschyshyn, Julia Rongve and Rayah
DeCorby all netted singles for Saskatoon. Emma Johnson made 13 saves to earn
the shutout in goal.
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| Grace Shirley had two goals and two assists for the Stars on Wednesday. |
The Stars road towards making a return trip to the Esso Cup
national championship tournament becomes a lot tougher from here on out. The
two SFMAAAHL best-of-five semifinal series are expected to be highly
competitive.
Saskatoon has home ice advantage throughout the SFMAAAHL
playoffs. The Stars will face either the Weyburn Gold Wings, who host the Esso
Cup from April 17-23, or Melville Prairie Fire in the semifinal round. The Gold
Wings posted an 18-9-1 mark in the regular season, while the Prairie Fire were
9-17-2.
Melville trails a best-of-five quarter-final series 2-1 to
the Prince Albert A & W Bears, who made last year’s SFMAAAHL final. The
Prince Albert series with Melville is the only SFMAAAHL quarter-final series
that is still going.
The Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats will have home ice
advantage for the other best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series.
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