Monday, 18 February 2019

Rebels lock up second in SFMAAAHL in fierce series split with Bears in P.A.

P.A. captain Soyko heats up as regular season draws to close

The Rebels locked up second place in the SFMAAAHL.
    Regina Rebels locked up second place, while Prince Albert Northern Bears star captain Abby Soyko found a way to steal the show.
    The two powerhouse clubs from the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League engaged in and split a fierce two-game battle at the Kinsman Arena in Prince Albert on the weekend.
    On Friday night, the Bears jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but three straight second period goals by the Rebels swung the momentum of that contest. Regina took 4-2 lead thanks to that surge and ultimately posted a 4-3 victory.
    Hanna Bailey, Samantha Sichkaruk, Sydney Pedersen and Jordan Fry netted singles for the Rebels. Rhea Peterson, Brooklyn Anderson and Kate Ball replied with singles for the Bears. Soyko assisted on the Bears final two goals of the contest.
    Chantel Weller made 24 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels. Scout Anderson turned away 40 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bears.
    That win by the Rebels allowed them to lock up second place in the SFMAAAHL.
Samantha Sichkaruk helped the Rebels lock up second place.
    On Saturday, Lauren Focht scored 52 seconds into the game to give the Rebels an early 1-0 lead.
Soyko responded for the Bears at the 6:09 mark of the first period to even things up at 1-1.
Pedersen and Kaylee Dyer proceeded to score for the Rebels before the opening frame ended to give Regina a 3-1 advantage.
    From there, the Bears started a progressive comeback. Soyko netted the only goal of the second to cut the Rebels lead to 3-2.
    With 59 seconds remaining in the third, Miranda Heidt recorded the equalizer to even things up at 3-3 and force overtime.
    In overtime, Soyko completed the hat trick to deliver the Bears to a 4-3 victory.
    Lexi Beuker turned away 36 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bears. Payton Schlamp turned away 46 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.
    On the weekend, the Bears wore special tribute jerseys for the Humboldt Broncos junior A team to pay respect for all those effected by the team’s bus crash on April 6, 2018. The jerseys will be auctioned off at the Bears first home playoff game in March in support of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Mental Assistance Fund.
Abby Soyko was on fire for the Bears on the weekend.
    Soyko had a number of ties with those involved in the Broncos bus crash.
    With the results in those two games, the Rebels saw their record move to 17-6-4. They close the SFMAAAHL regular season by hosting the Notre Dame Hounds on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.
    The Bears saw their regular season come to a close with their weekend encounters with the Rebels. Prince Albert finishes the regular season with a 17-9-2 record.
    Soyko, who is playing her final season of midget AAA eligibility, posted 65 goals and 63 assists for 128 points in 136 regular season games played with the Bears over five seasons. The 17-year-old captain is the Bears all-time leader in regular season goals and points and shares the team career regular season assists record with former Bears captain Kaitlin Willoughby.
    Soyko is the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL in regular season play.
    Willoughby, who currently plays professionally with the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, recorded 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points playing in 96 career regular season games with the Bears from 2008 to 2013.
    The Rebels will face the Melville Prairie Fire in a best-of-five first round playoff series. The Bears will take on the Notre Dame Hounds in a best-of-five first round series. The SFMAAAHL playoffs are expected to start around March 7.

Stars roll past Hounds

Captain Grace Shirley had a four-goal night for the Stars on Sunday.
    Saskatoon Stars are motoring into the SFMAAAHL playoffs riding a six-game winning streak.
Over the weekend, the Stars swept away the Notre Dame Hounds in a two game series at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox, Sask., to improve their winning streak to six games.
    On Saturday, the Stars blanked the Hounds 4-0 scoring all of their goals in the second period.
    Joelle Fiala scored twice for the Stars, while Alison Olorenshaw and Makena Kushniruk had singles. Arden Kliewer turned away 12 shots to pick up her seventh shutout win of the season in goal for the Stars.
    Kaitlyn Ross turned away 31 shots to take the setback in goal for the Hounds.
On Sunday, Stars star captain Grace Shirley scored four goals to power her side to a 6-0 victory. Chase Sperling and Anna Leschyshyn netted singles for the Stars.
    Rookie Kaitlyn Cadrain stopped 13 shots to pick up her third career SFMAAAHL shutout in goal for the Stars. Rayanne Mckenzie turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Hounds.
    The Stars top forwards in Shirley, Leschyshyn and Fiala are all playing out their final seasons of midget AAA eligibility.
    Shirley, who is the Stars captain, finishes up as the third all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL in regular season play. She collected 97 goals and 69 assists for 166 points in 107 regular season games. She is the Stars all-time leader in career regular season goals and points.
    Leschyshyn concludes regular season play as the fifth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. She recorded 72 goals and 80 assists for 152 points in 115 regular season games. Leschyshyn is just the fifth player in the history of the SFMAAAHL to record 80 or more career regular season assists.
Joelle Fiala became the Stars leader in career regular season assists.
    Fiala closes regular season play as the eighth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. She posted 47 goals and 83 assists for 130 points in 112 regular season games. She recorded her final career regular season assist on Sunday to pass former team captain Lauren Zary as the Stars all-time leader in that category.
    Zary collected 44 goals and 82 assists for 126 points playing 103 regular season games with the Stars from 2008 to 2012. She is the 10th all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL in regular season play and moved on to play post-secondary hockey first with the Brown University Bears in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks and then the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the U Sports ranks.
    Fiala sits in a tie with Chelsea Perepeluk for the second and third spots in the SFMAAAHL career regular season assists list. Perepeluk, who is the SFMAAAHL’s 14th all-time leading scorer in regular season points, recorded 36 goals and 83 assists in 108 regular season games played with the Regina Rebels from 2010 to 2015.
    The Stars already had first place in the SFMAAAHL locked up heading into the weekend, and they will have a bye to a best-of-five league semifinal series in the post-season. Saskatoon posted its best regular season record ever at 27-1 beating out its previous best mark of 25-2-1 from the 2016-17 campaign.
    The Stars collected a new team record 78 points in the standings coming off 24 regulation wins and three extra time victories. Their previous record of 76 points came back in 2016-17 coming from 25 regulation wins and one extra time setback.
    The Hounds are cemented to finish fifth in the SFMAAAHL with an 11-13-3 record. They close the SFMAAAHL regular season by traveling to Regina to face the Rebels on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.
    Notre Dame will face the Prince Albert Northern Bears in a best-of-five first round playoff series. The SFMAAAHL playoffs are expected to start around March 7.

Wildcats vault into third with sweep of Gold Wings

Taylor Lind won her second SFMAAAHL scoring title this season.
    Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats jumped into a third place finish in the SFMAAAHL standings with a sweep of the Weyburn Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings on the weekend.
    On Saturday at the Fairview Arena in Swift Current, the Wildcats downed the Gold Wings 6-1. Star captain Taylor Lind and Sara Kendall scored twice for the Wildcats, while Brooklyn Rublee and Tobi Fontaine had singles.
    Dakota Bowler replied with a single for the Gold Wings.
    Harper Davey turned away 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wildcats. Daneka Dickson turned away 37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Gold Wings.
    On Sunday at the Fairview Arena, Lind powered the Wildcats with a hat trick and an assist to a 6-0 victory.
    Ashlee Wolfe, Sara Kendall and Carissa Hogan had singles for the Wildcats. Davey stopped all 20 shots she faced to pick up her first shutout win of the season.
    Amara Lewendon turned away 42 shots to take the setback in goal for the Gold Wings. Weyburn missed the playoffs finishing with a 1-26-1 record.
    Lind finished her regular season career as the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL in regular season play. She piled up 93 goals and 77 assists for 170 points in 83 regular season games. The Shaunavon, Sask., product is the Wildcats all-time leader in career regular season goals, assists and points.
Sara Kendall had three goals on the weekend for the Wildcats.
    For the second time in three seasons, Lind won the SFMAAAHL scoring title posting 29 goals and 31 assists for 60 points this season. Her assist and point totals are career highs.
    Next season, Lind is slated to the join the Lindenwood University Lions women’s hockey team in St. Charles, Missouri, in the NCAA ranks. She has one season of midget AAA eligibility remaining but is set to graduate high school a year early.
    The Wildcats are 11-1 since returning to action after the Christmas break to vault to a third place finish in the SFMAAAHL standings with a 17-10-1 record to just edge out the Prince Albert Northern Bears, who were 17-9-2.
    Swift Current recorded 50 points in the standings due to winning 15 games in regulation, winning twice in extra time and posting one extra time loss. The Bears posted 49 points in the standings coming off 13 regulation wins, four extra time wins and two extra time setbacks.
    The Wildcats will face the Battlefords Sharks in a best-of-five first round series. The SFMAAAHL playoffs are expected to start around March 7.

Sharks, Prairie Fire close with hard-fought split

Madison Sansom scored twice for the Sharks on Saturday.
    The Battlefords Sharks and the Melville Prairie Fire conclude their respective SFMAAAHL regular seasons with a head-to-head split in a two game series.
    On Saturday at the Horizon Credit Union Centre in Melville, the Sharks led 1-0 after the first period and extended their edge to 3-0 early in the third. The Prairie Fire battled back cutting the Sharks lead to 3-2, but Battlefords sealed with win with an empty-net goal with under 10 seconds to play in the third.
    Brooklyn Rowley and Madison Sansom each scored twice for the Sharks. Megan Hayhurst and Ava Metzger replied with singles for the Prairie Fire.
    Haylie Biever turned away 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Sharks. Cheyenne Jamieson turned away 21 of 24 shots taking the setback in goal for the Prairie Fire.
    The two side played a barnburner at the Horizon Credit Union Centre on Sunday in Melville. The two side were locked in a 1-1 tie exiting the first period.
    The Sharks took a 2-1 lead early in the second period, but the Prairie Fire exploded for three straight goals to take a 4-2 edge into the second intermission. Melville held on for a 5-4 victory.
    Jordyn Blais scored twice for the Sharks, while Kiana McNinch and Sydney Rowley had singles. Metzger scored twice and had an assist for the Prairie Fire, while Megan Hayhurst, Jordyn Bear and Heather Fiske had singles.
Allison Hayhurst played her 139th regular season game on Sunday.
    Biever turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Sharks. Jamieson turned away 14-of-16 shots starting and picking up the win in goal for the Prairie Fire. Haley Schrader played the final 22 minutes of Sunday’s contest turning away 17-of-19 shots in relief.
    The Sharks finished sixth in the SFMAAAHL standings with an 11-13-4 record. They were just edged out by the Notre Dame Hounds (11-13-3) for fifth place.
    The Hounds have 35 points in the standings coming off 10 regulation wins, one extra time win and three extra time setbacks. The Sharks finished with 33 standings points coming off seven regulation wins, four extra time wins and four extra time setbacks.
    Battlefords win and standings point totals were team records. The Sharks previous record for wins in one regular season was 10 posted in the SFMAAAHL’s second season in 2007-08, when they posted 10 wins, 16 losses and two ties.
    Battlefords previous high for standings points was 26 posted in 2014-15 coming from a 9-18-1 record, where the team won seven times in regulation, twice in extra time and had one extra time setback.
    The Prairie Fire were seventh overall in the SFMAAAHL with a 10-16-2 mark.
    Prairie Fire defender Allison Hayhurst became the third person in the history of the SFMAAAHL to play in 139 career regular season games. Hayhurst, who turned 18-years-old earlier this month, has 22 goals and 47 assists for 69 points in her 139 career regular season games.
    She had assists in each of the Prairie Fire’s last two games.
    The Sharks will face the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats in a best-of-five first round series. The Prairie Fire will meet the Regina Rebels in a best-of-five first round series. The SFMAAAHL playoffs are expected to start around March 7.

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