Sunday 13 January 2019

Rebels confirm they’re for real, down powerhouse Stars 3-2

Larissa Bohlken assisted on the Rebels winning goal on Sunday.
    The Regina Rebels achieved the win they were desperately seeking.
    On Sunday at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, the Rebels downed the defending Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League champion Saskatoon Stars 3-2. The setback was the first regular season loss of the 2018-19 campaign for the Stars, who have been a powerhouse squad for the past five seasons.
    The Stars still lead the SFMAAAHL standings with a 20-1 record, while the Rebels sit second with a 13-4-2 mark.
    Saskatoon took a 1-0 lead on a first period goal from standout forward Kaitlin Jockims. The Stars held their slim 1-0 edge heading into the third period.
    In the third, the Rebels exploded for three straight goal to take a 3-1 advantage. Gwyneth Pritchard tied things up at 1-1 scoring 68 seconds into the frame. Just less than a minute later, sophomore 15-year-old defender Sydney Pedersen scored to put the Rebels up 2-1.
    At the 6:53 mark of the third, 15-year-old rookie forward Neena Brick scored what would be the winning goal for the Rebels giving them a 3-1 advantage. Larissa Bohlken, who is a sophomore 15-year-old defender, and Lauren Focht, who is a 16-year-old veteran forward, picked up assists on Brick’s winner.
    The Stars cut the gap to 3-2 at the 9:11 mark of the third, when standout sophomore forward Makena Kushniruk netted her 14th goal of the season.
    Saskatoon was unable to net the equalizer from that point.
    Chantel Weller, who is from Saskatoon, turned away 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels. Kaitlyn Cadrain stopped 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Stars.
    Stars star centre Joelle Fiala picked up a milestone in the loss. She assisted on Kushniruk’s goal, and with that helper, Fiala became just the fourth player in the history of the SFMAAAHL to record 80 career regular season assists.
Joelle Fiala picked up her 80th career assist on Sunday.
    In 105 career regular season games, Fiala has 45 goals and 80 assists to sit as the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL with 125 points. She needs to pick up two more assists to equal Lauren Zary for the Stars team career regular season record.
    Zary, who is a former Stars captain, appeared in 103 career regular season games over four seasons with the Stars from 2008 to 2012 collecting 44 goals and 82 assists for 126 points. She moved on to play for the Brown University Bears women’s hockey team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team of the U Sports ranks.
    When the Stars and Rebels met on Saturday at the Co-operators Centre, Saskatoon pulled out a 3-0 victory in that regular season encounter.
    Kushniruk, Kaylee Baum and Fiala all netted singles for the Stars.
    Arden Kliewer stopped 18 shots to earn her fifth shutout of the season playing goal for the Stars.
    Weller turned away 13 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.
    Back on Dec. 8, 2018, the Stars and Rebels met in a semifinal contest at the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament, and the Stars rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to pull out a 3-2 victory after a tiebreaking shootout.
    The Rebels return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Melville Prairie Fire at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.
    The Stars are off until Jan. 26, when they host the Rebels at 2:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

Lind hits even higher gear for Wildcats

Taylor Lind leads the SFMAAAHL in scoring.
    Star captain Taylor Lind is finding a way to take her game to an even higher level for the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats.
    Lind, who recently turned 17-years-old, was in on all of the Wildcats goals this weekend as Swift Current swept the Prairie Fire in Melville in a weekend SFMAAAHL regular season series at the Horizon Credit Union Centre.
    On Saturday, Lind had a pair of goals including the winner and an assist as the Wildcats downed the Prairie Fire 3-2. Linemate Carissa Hogan had a goal and an assist to help power the Swift Current victory.
    Hogan set up Lind for the winning tally at the 8:56 mark of the third period to break a 2-2 tie.
Megan Hayhurst and Allison Hayhurst replied with singles for the Prairie Fire.
    Amaya Giraudier turned away 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wildcats. Cheyenne Jamieson stopped 37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Prairie Fire.
    On Sunday, Lind had a goal and two assists to push the Wildcats to another 3-2 victory over the Prairie Fire. She set up the Wildcats first goal of the contest scored by Sara Kendall and the winning tally at the 9:46 mark of the third scored by Hogan. Swift Current held a 3-1 advantage after Hogan’s goal.
    Halle Bowles and Jordyn Bear replied with singles for the Prairie Fire.
    Giraudier stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wildcats. Jamieson turned away 33 shots to take the setback in goal for the Prairie Fire.
    The Wildcats have won four straight to improve to 10-9-1. The Prairie Fire fell to 8-10-1.
    With her effort this weekend, Lind became just the fourth player in the history of the SFMAAAHL to score 150 or more points in her career in regular season play. In 75 career regular season games, Lind has piled up 79 goals and 71 assists for 150 points.
    She also became one of eight players to record 70 or more career assists in regular season play in the history of the SFMAAAHL.
    Lind leads the SFMAAAHL scoring race this season with 15 goals and 25 assists. She won the SFMAAAHL scoring title in her rookie season in 2016-17.
    The Prairie Fire return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to Regina to face the Rebels at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.
    The Wildcats host the Battlefords Sharks this coming Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Gull Lake Arena.

Bears, Hounds split weekend series in P.A.

Miranda Heidt scored the OT winner for the Bears on Sunday.
    The visiting Notre Dame Hounds and the host Prince Albert Northern Bears split their two head-to-head SFMAAAHL regular season games this past weekend at the Kinsmen Arena in Prince Albert.
    In Saturday’s encounter, the Bears took a 2-1 lead early in the second period only to see the Hounds rally for a 3-2 victory.
    Kailey Ledoux had a goal and an assist for the Bears, while Miranda Heidt netted a single.
    Lyndsey Janes picked up an assist on the Hounds first goal by Kaitlyn Gilroy. Janes proceeded to score the equalizer in the second period and the winning goal at the 4:02 mark of the third to push the Hounds to victory.
    Scout Anderson stopped 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bears. Kaitlyn Ross turned away 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hounds.
    On Sunday, the Bears rallied from a 3-2 deficit after two periods to pull out a 4-3 victory in overtime.
    Brooklyn Anderson scored the equalizer for the Bears on the power play 23 seconds into the third period to force a 3-3 tie. Heidt scored the winner at the 1:37 mark of overtime.
    Kate Ball and Tori MacDonald netted singles for the Bears.
    Raea Gilroy, Ally Kosteniuk and Kaitlyn Gilroy replied with singles for the Hounds.
    Lexi Beuker turned away 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bears. Rayanne Mckenzie turned away 18 shots to take the setback in goal for the Hounds.
    The Bears record moved to 12-8-2. The Hounds record sits at 6-9-3.
    The Hounds return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Weyburn Gold Wings at 8 p.m. at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox.
    The Bears host the Melville Prairie Fire this coming Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Shellbrook Skating Rink.

Shirley becomes golden girl with Canada

Grace Shirley won a gold medal with Canada.
    Grace Shirley had a Sunday fun day she will always remember.
    The 17-year-old captain of the defending SFMAAAHL champion Saskatoon Stars had an assist to help Canada down the United States 3-2 in overtime in the gold medal final of the world under-18 women’s hockey championship tournament in Obihiro, Japan.
    Canada trailed 2-1 at one point in the third period before rallying for the overtime victory.
    Shirley, who assisted on Danielle Serdachny’s first period goal, was on the ice when linemate Maddi Wheeler scored the winner on the power play at the 1:34 mark of the extra session.
    Anne Cherkowski scored the equalizer for Canada to force a 2-2 at the 11:11 mark of the third.
Canada scored all of its goals on the power play. Canada was 3-for-8 on the power play.
    Makenna Webster and Abbey Murphy replied with singles for the United States. The United States went 1-for-9 on the power play.
    Raygan Kirk turned away 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for Canada. Skyler Vetter turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the United States.
    Shirley had a goal and an assist playing in Canada’s five games at the tournament. This marked the second straight year she played for Canada at the under-18 women’s worlds.
    Canada has won five golds at the under-18 women’s worlds. Sunday’s victory marked the first time Canada had won the tournament since 2014.
    Over the past four years, this was Canada’s biggest win in women’s hockey at an international tournament, and the United States has claimed victory at most top level tournaments during that span of time.
    During the 2018-19 SFMAAAHL campaign, Shirley leads the Stars in scoring with 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points in 18 regular season games.
    She has committed to joining the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team for the start of the 2019-20 campaign in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks. Her older sister, Sophie, currently plays for the Badgers.

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