Esso sweet Esso – Stars return to nationals for fourth time in last five years

The Stars captains celebrate their Western regional win.

    With the Saskatoon Stars one win away from returning to nationals, Jayda Sachs came to the rink feeling a little down.

    The veteran forward of five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League seasons was dwelling on the fact she could be playing her home game at Merlis Belsher Place on Saturday. The down mood didn’t last long for Sachs, who turned 18-years-old in March.

    In Game 2 of a best-of-three Western regional playdown series, the Stars dominated the visiting Westman Wildcats from Hartney, Man., posting a 3-0 victory along with a 42-4 edge in shots on goal.

Jayda Sachs scored the Stars third goal on Saturday.

    Having claimed Game 1 by a 3-2 final on Friday at Merlis, the Stars swept the series 2-0 to capture the Lanchbery Family Trophy.

    They will return to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament for a second straight year and for the fourth time in the last five years. The Esso Cup runs April 21 to 27 in Sudbury, Ont.

    “There is nothing really better than this feeling,” said Sachs, who played her first two SFMAAAHL campaigns with the Prince Albert Northern Bears before joining the Stars. “This is where we want to get to as a team and then move on to Esso.

    “Especially my last year, this is a pretty special thing. To have my family all being here, this is what we work towards all year as a team. This is a pretty special feeling.”

    To cap the Game 2 victory, Sachs scored the Stars final goal with 1:32 remaining in the third period with linemates Kaitlin Jockims and Makena Kushniruk picking up assists on the play.

Halle Helperl scored the Stars first goal on Saturday.

    “I thought about, ‘Oh, what if I score today?’” said Sachs. “My brothers were bugging me about it.

    “As soon as that puck went in the net, I was just like oh this is a great feeling, and to have everybody here to see it happen, it was amazing.”

    The Stars controlled play from wire to wire, and it took a sensational 39 save performance from Wildcats netminder Natalie Williamson to keep her team in the game.

    After a scoreless first, the Stars broke through on the scoreboard at the 9:57 mark of the second, when a shot from veteran defender Chace Sperling was deflected home by Stars underage rookie forward Halle Helperl. Helperl’s tally turned out to be the series winner.

Ashley Messier scored the Stars second goal on Saturday.

    “It was a good feeling, because it was the first goal,” said Helperl, who had six goals and eight assists in the Stars 28 regular season games. “I just was kind of standing there, and the puck was just coming.

    “I felt it on the side of my leg, and I didn’t know where it went. It was in the net.”

    Helperl was pumped about the chance to go to nationals for the first time.

    “It feels amazing,” said Helperl. “We’re on our way to Esso, so everyone is obviously super excited. It is a really good feeling.”

    With the way Saturday’s game was going, the Stars lead grew to an insurmountable one, when standout offensive defender Ashley Messier fired home a power-play goal from the point with 4:40 remaining in the second period. Messier’s shot just trickled over the goal-line between the legs of Williamson.

Netminder Natalie Williamson made 39 saves in goal for the Wildcats.

    Messier believed her Stars would have closed out Saturday’s win even if she didn’t score an insurance marker.

    “I guess it was nice to have another goal,” said Messier. “We would have done it no matter what happened I think.”

    Messier was named the top defender at last year’s Esso Cup, and can’t wait to make the return trip this year.

    “Going back, it is really exciting,” said Messier. “We know what to expect, or at least I do this time.

    “I am really excited to see how our new girls will like it, because I know my first time it was just amazing. We’re going to get it this time. We’re not going to let it slide.”

Jayda Sachs celebrates her goal with netminder Arden Kliewer.

    The most underrated aspect of the Stars win on Saturday was the mental focus of third-year veteran netminder Arden Kliewer. Kliewer stayed sharp enough to make four saves to earn the shutout win in goal.

    Two of Kliewer’s stops were quality scoring chances that came after long stretches of inactivity.

    When the dust settled, Stars head coach Greg Slobodzian was proud of how his team played and was happy his players received a tip of the hat from Wildcats head coach Guy Williams.

    “Shaking the other coach’s hand he gave us the ultimate compliment,” said Slobodzian. “He said, ‘You know what, that is a full 60-minute team you have right there.’

    “Years gone by sometimes that hasn’t been the case. Feeling that way going towards Sudbury, Esso Cup, I’m really happy about it. Just seeing everybody on the ice, it is about what is going on right now.

The Stars pour off their bench to celebrate going to Esso Cup.

    “The glow of being a champion and moving on and seeing grandmas out here hugging their granddaughters is just fantastic.”

    At last year’s Esso Cup in Bridgewater, N.S., the Stars entered the championship game posting a 6-0 record at that point in the tournament having outscored the opposition 28-4. They lost a 2-1 heartbreaker in the gold medal game to the Alberta based St. Albert Slash, who claimed the national title for a second straight year.

    Messier said the goal of her squad is to take care of some unfinished business this time.

The Stars and Merlis Belsher are all smiles after a Western regional win.

    “We kind of let it go last year,” said Messier. “Now we are going to come for it this time.”

    The Stars open Esso Cup on April 21 taking on the still to be determined champion from Ontario.

Sachs said the Stars are intent on finishing the campaign winning the team’s first national championship.

    “We’re pretty excited,” said Sachs. “It is good to have the experience of it for sure.

    “I think from last year losing in the final there we are even more motivated to win it this year.”

    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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