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| The Stars are all smiles after scoring a goal at the Agriplace Arena. |
They often get overshadowed, but one of Saskatoon’s most
successful teams resides in a little rink call the Agriplace Arena in the north
end of town.
Playing mainly in front of family and friends for the
majority of their games, the Saskatoon Stars have piled up the wins and made
their name known on the national stage. From 2010-12, they made three straight
appearances in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship
series and won the prestigious Mac’s Midget AAA tournament title in the 2010-11
campaign.
That era of the Stars featured current Canadian senior
national team member Emily Clark, Katie Sigurdson, Lauren Zary, Marley Ervine,
Sara Greschner, Kennedy Harris, Brooke Mutch and Alyssa Dobler. The latter five
of that group moved on to help the University of Saskatchewan Huskies win their
first Canada West conference title coming in the 2013-14 campaign.
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| Willow Slobodzian is a gifted offensive defender. |
Before the start of the 2014-15 campaign, Greg Slobodzian
took over as the Stars head coach and the team reached new heights. In
Slobodzian’s first campaign, the Stars posted a 45-5 overall record, claimed a second
Mac’s title, their first SFMAAAHL championship and first Western regional
banner. The season finished with a bronze medal game win at the Esso Cup
national championship tournament in Red Deer.
The Stars were powered by the dynamic duo of Sophie Shirley
and Nara Elia that season. Both currently play on the Okanagan Hockey Academy’s
female prep team, and Shirley has also found a home in Canada’s national team
system playing with the under-18 squad last year.
Shirley and Elia departed after the 2014-15 season and the
Stars proceeded to follow up with an amazing 2015-16 campaign. They posted a
45-13 overall record, won a second SFMAAAHL title and second Western regional
banner and finished fourth at the Esso Cup in Weyburn.
This season, the Stars have stormed out of the gates again
posting a 10-1-1 record to sit first in the SFMAAAHL.
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| Skilled forward Mackenna Parker has gifted smarts on the ice. |
On Sunday at the Agriplace Arena, they bombed the Weyburn
Southern Range Gold Wings 11-1, while dominating with a 63-10 edge in shots.
Their two biggest names led the way in 16-year-olds Mackenna
Parker and captain Willow Slobodzian, who both attended Hockey Canada’s selection camp
for its under-18 women’s national team in August. Parker, who has gifted
smarts, had a goal and three assists, while Slobodzian, a smooth skating
offensive defender, rocketed home two goals and added a helper.
What has to be scary for opponents is that fact the Stars
are bunch of talented and hard-working players. In that romp over Weyburn, Anna
Leschyshyn had a pair of goals and an assist. Singles came off the sticks of
Jayda Sachs, Jordyn Gerlitz, Abby DeCorby, Kianna Dietz, Abby Shirley and Jordyn
Holmes. Rookie goalie Arden Kliewer made nine stops to pick up the win in net.
The list of goal scorers didn’t include standouts Grace
Shirley and Joelle Fiala. Both turned heads last season as underage 14-year-old
rookies and are just that much better one year later.
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| Anna Leschyshyn gets open for a pass on the wing. |
Taya McKersie had the Gold Wings (0-14) lone reply, while
Loghan Hennes turned away 52 shots going the distance in the Weyburn goal.
On Monday, the Stars traveled to Melville for a first place
showdown with the Prairie Fire and skated away with 5-1 victory. Parker had a
hat trick, while Gerlitz and Julia Rongve had singles. Sophomore Jordan Ivanco made
27 stops to earn the win in goal.
Megan Leblanc replied for the Prairie Fire, who fell to
10-3. Ashlyn Taillon made 23 stops to take the loss in the Melville net.
With Greg Slobodzian and assistant coaches Curtis Leschyshyn
and Jason Schneider, the Stars have a staff that could run the bench of a Western
Hockey League team.
They also have to be excited about the group of players they
have to work with. The bench bosses know they had a driven group that wasn’t
going to skip any steps in off-season training. The coaches had to be eagerly
anticipating how much faster and stronger their girls were going to be when
they came to training camp.
When the Stars returning players hit the ice, the
improvement in their physical power was noticeable. Their wide open style
became that much more difficult to stop and impressive to watch.
They do it all without much media attention, but that is
something these girls don’t notice. They are humble enough they blush at the
attention they do get.
For now, the Stars get to enjoy the journey of going through
another season, where the rink is the greatest place to be. Next up is a two-game
series against the Prairie Fire at the Agriplace Arena. The two clubs meet this
coming Saturday at 7:45 p.m. and this coming Sunday at 2:15 p.m.
From Dec. 26, 2016 to Jan. 1, 2017, the Stars will again be
playing at Mac’s.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them in the final of that
event and playing hockey throughout March and April on another long playoff
run.
Back in the Express with Dukate
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| Sabine Dukate sizes up an offensive situation for the Huskies. |
I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express last week
with a feature story on Sabine Dukate, who is the starting point guard for the
University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team.
The 23-year-old, who is in her sophomore season, came to the
Huskies from Ventspiils, Latvia. She played a big role in helping the Huskies
captured their first ever U Sports national championship.
In the U Sports title game last March, Dukate nailed four of
seven shots from three-point range, recorded 22 points, seven rebounds, seven
assists and three steals to power the Huskies past the Ryerson University Rams
85-71.
The story on Dukate can be found right here.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
