Thursday, 26 April 2018

Stars roll to 5-0 at Esso Cup, will face Pionnieres in semifinal

Grace Shirley has four goals and two assists for the Stars at Esso Cup.
    It seemed like everyone was pitching in for the Saskatoon Stars in their final round robin game at the Esso Cup.
    On Thursday at the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre in Bridgewater, N.S., five different players scored for the Stars as they rolled past the Northern Subway Selects from New Glasgow, N.S. 5-2. Saskatoon built a 5-0 lead after 40 minutes, and the Selects scored twice inside of the final three minutes of the third period to round out the contest’s scoring at the female midget AAA hockey national championship tournament.
    The Stars finished play in the preliminary round with a perfect 5-0 record, and they became the fourth team in the history of the Esso Cup, which is being contested for the 10th time this year, to win all of their round robin games in regulation. The defending Esso Cup champion St. Albert Slash from Alberta are the last team to win all their preliminary round games in regulation pulling off that feat last year, when the Esso Cup was held in Morden, Man.
    Saskatoon will face the Pionnieres de Lanaudiere (2-2-1) from Quebec in Friday’s early semifinal set for 1 p.m. Saskatchewan time. The Slash (4-1) take on the Brampton Canadettes (3-2) from Ontario in Friday’s late semifinal set for 4:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time. The Selects (1-3-1) and host Metro Boston Pizza (0-4-1) were eliminated from playoff round contention with Thursday’s results.
Kaitlin Jockims scored for the Stars on Thursday.
    In Thursday’s encounter between the Stars and Selects, the Stars jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes getting goals from standout centre Grace Shirley, superstar captain Mackenna Parker and right-winger Jayda Sachs. Sachs tipped home a point shot from rookie 15-year-old defender Emily Holmes right before the first period buzzer went.
    Holmes had two assists in the contest.
    Just 2:17 into the second, the Stars went ahead 4-0, when veteran right-winger Kianna Dietz, who turned 18 in January, netted her second goal of the tournament. With 81 seconds remaining in the second, Kaitlin Jockims potted her third goal of the event to give the Stars a 5-0 advantage.
    Inside of the final three minutes of the third, Maddie Quinn and Kara MacLean scored singles for the Selects.
    Jordan Ivanco stopped 14 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Jenna Landry turned away 27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Selects.
    The Stars currently have five players averaging a point or more per game so far at the Esso Cup. Parker leads all players in tournament scoring with five goals and six assists for 11 points. Centre Joelle Fiala has seven points coming off three goals and four assists.
    Shirley, right-winger Anna Leschyshyn and defender Ashley Messier all have six points each. Shirley has four goals and two assists, Leschyshyn had two goals and four assists, and Messier has one goal and five assists.
Emily Holmes had two assists for the Stars on Thursday.
    The Pionnieres have two players who are averaging a point or more per game in the Esso Cup. Centre Ann-Frederik Naud has seven points coming off three goals and four assists. Her linemate and left-winger Megane Quirion has six points coming off six assists.
    The Stars are 13-0 in this year’s post-season. They will be looking to earn their first semifinal win ever at the Esso Cup on Friday.
    At the 2015 tournament in Red Deer, Alta., the Stars fell 2-1 after a tiebreaking shootout to the host Chiefs. At the 2016 Esso Cup in Weyburn, Sask., the Stars fell 4-0 to the Brantford Ice Cats from Ontario, who moved on to win the event’s championship game.
    The Stars are trying to become the first Saskatchewan based team since the Weyburn Gold Wings in 2014 to win the Esso Cup.
    The tournament’s bronze and gold medal games are slated for Saturday, and the gold medal final will be shown live at 4 p.m. Saskatchewan time on TSN.

Parker officially receives Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Award


    On Thursday, Saskatoon Stars captain Mackenna Parker officially received this year’s Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Female-Player-of-the-Year Award from Hockey Canada.
    The award is given annually to a player that most demonstrates good values, leadership and strong community involvement. Hockey Canada named Parker the winner of the Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Award back on April 5.
    Parker topped the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League in regular season scoring with 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games. She was named the winner of the SFMAAAHL’s most valuable player award and a first-team all-star.
    In the process, she equaled the Stars team record for most points in one regular season also set by Emily Clark, who is a member of Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team. Clark piled up 60 points in 26 regular season games in the 2011-12 campaign with the Stars coming off 26 goals and 34 assists.
    Parker is completing her final season of midget AAA eligibility and will graduate sitting second on the SFMAAAHL’s all-time regular season scoring list with 82 goals and 76 assists in 104 regular season games.
    In January, Parker helped Canada win bronze at the under-18 women’s world championship, which was held in Dmitrov, Russia.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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