Rebels’ Focht a great made in Regina story

Lauren Focht is the Rebels all-time leading scorer.

    Lauren Focht keeps piling up the highlights and milestones with her elite hometown team.

    On Tuesday at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn, Focht became the all-time leading scorer in regular season for her Regina Rebels female midget AAA hockey team. The skilled forward, who turned 18-years-old in January, picked up a goal and an assist as the Rebels thumped the host Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings 8-2 in a Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season game.

    The effort gave Focht 66 goals and 56 assists for 122 points in 102 regular season games. That put Focht one point ahead of Emma Waldenberger for top spot on the Rebels all-time regular season scoring list.

    Waldenberger collected 60 goals and 61 assists for 121 points playing in 109 career regular season games for the Rebels from 2010 to 2014.

    Besides being the Rebels all-time leader in career points, Focht, who stands 5-foot-3, is also the Rebels leader in all-time career goals. Her 66 tallies ranks eighth on the SFMAAAHL all-time career regular season goals list.

Lauren Focht is the Rebels all-time leader in career goals.

    Focht’s 122 career points are good for 11^th place on the SFMAAAHL’s all-time career regular season points list. Over the Rebels final three games, she has a chance to move past former Saskatoon Stars captain Lauren Zary for 10^th on the SFMAAAHL’s all-time scoring list.

    Zary piled up 44 goals and 82 assists for 126 points playing 103 regular season games with the Stars from 2008 to 2012.

    Focht hasn’t just burst on the scene with the Rebels. She has produced consistent offensive numbers with the team over her four seasons never falling below 23 points in any campaign.

    This season, Focht currently sits second in team scoring with 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points. Her assist total is a career high showing her playmaking abilities can be just as good as her scoring touch around the net.

    Focht is a Rebels co-captain along with gifted offensive defender Sydney Pedersen.

Actually, Focht doesn’t actively pay attention to her personal statistics and is more focused on team success. You get the feeling she relishes the fact she gets to be one of the sparkplugs that makes the deep Rebels machine go.

    Last season, the Rebels showed they were ready to play with Canada’s best in the female midget AAA hockey ranks. 

Lauren Focht been one of the Rebels most consistent players.

    They finished second in the SFMAAAHL with a 17-7-4 record, advanced to the league championship series and fell to a powerhouse Stars club that was loaded with superstar veterans.

    The Rebels gave the Stars their only regular season loss in the 2018-19 campaign.

    With another year of experience under their collective belts, the Rebels have already locked up first place in the SFMAAAHL with an impressive 26-1-1 record and they are Canada’s top rated female midget AAA hockey team according to the My Hockey Rankings site. The Rebels last topped the SFMAAAHL standings in the 2013-14 campaign.
    The current Rebels have a drive and self-belief that is powerful and beyond the teenage years of the players.

    In Tuesday’s win over the Gold Wings, the Rebels offensive output came from a number of sources. Pedersen and Neena Brick both had two goals and an assist. Kaylee Dyer had a goal and an assist, while Megan Hayhurst and Shaelyn Myers had singles.

    Alexis Petford had a pair of assists, while Penny Bellefontaine and Jasmine Lamotte had single assists.

    Jayden Baker and Lauren Demmans both had a goal and an assist for the Gold Wings.

Lauren Focht (#22) doesn’t actively follow her personal statistics.

    Payton Schlamp made 16 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels. Veteran Chloe Burt turned away 49 shots to take the setback in net for the Gold Wings, who fell to 5-22-2.

    The Rebels return to action this coming Thursday, when they host the Battlefords Sharks at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.

    Brick, who has been Focht’s linemate for much of the current campaign, leads the SFMAAAHL in scoring with 28 goals and 27 assists for 55 points skating in her sophomore 16-year-old campaign.

    With all that noted, Focht has produced a great made in Regina story. Her family is talented in the game too, as older brother Carson has 31 goals and 20 assists in 55 regular season games with the Calgary Hitmen heading into WHL action on Friday.

    It is almost too bad Carson, who turned 20-years-old in February, didn’t play for the WHL’s Regina Pats.

    When the Rebels season wraps up, Lauren Focht will continue her hometown journey in hockey joining the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey teams in the U Sports ranks. Focht’s addition is a huge addition for the Cougars.

Many more special moments could awaiting Lauren Focht and the Rebels.

    While it is a big jump to play in the U Sports ranks and success is in no way guaranteed, you have to love that the chance is there for the hometown product to do big things with her hometown university team.

    Until then, Focht and the Rebels are well positioned to make a memorable post-season. With the WHL’s Pats still going through a massive rebuild, Focht and her teammates can capture the imagination of the sports scene in “the Queen City” along with the Regina Pat Canadians, who topped the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League standings.

    Some more special hockey memories are just waiting to be made in the Saskatchewan capital.

    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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Surreal night for Clark as Stars retire her #13

Emily Clark waves to the crowd at Merlis Belsher Place.

    It seemed like fate played a hand when it came to Emily Clark wearing #13 for the Saskatoon Stars.

    When the skilled forward joined the female midget AAA team before the start of the 2009-10 campaign, she was still 13-years-old due to having a birthday in late November. As an underage rookie player, Clark remembers she didn’t have many options when it came to picking a number.

    “I ended up wearing it (#13) because when I played on the Stars I was 13-years-old, and I was the youngest,” said Clark. “I had last pick of jerseys and #13 and #21 were up for grabs.

    “I think #13 might have been a smaller jersey, so I ended up in #13. I made it my own, and it ended up being one of my favourite numbers.”

    Wearing #13, Clark became one of the Stars all-time greats. 

Emily Clark, left, is greeted by her father, Del.

    After graduating from the team, she played four seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks winning an NCAA championship last season in her final campaign with the squad.

    The 24-year-old has been a fixture in Canada’s national team system first playing with the under-18 women’s team for two seasons before joining the senior national women’s team. Clark skated with the national women’s development team too.

    Last year, Clark played for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She had a goal in Canada’s 5-0 semifinal win over the Olympic Athletes from Russia.

    Canada fell 3-2 to the United States in the gold medal game after a tiebreaking shootout.

    Due to all her accomplishments, the Stars honoured Clark on Friday night by retiring her #13 before their SFMAAAHL regular season encounter at Merlis Belsher Place with the league leading Regina Rebels. The Stars led 3-1 in the third period before the Rebels rallied for a 4-3 victory.

Emily Clark, second from left, receives gifts from two Stars players.

    Clark found it hard to describe what it was like to see her old number with the Stars raised up at Merlis Belsher Place standing next to her parents in father, Del, and mother, Tracy.

    “It is hard to put into words,” said Clark. “I think surreal is definitely what comes to mind.

    “I was told about it about a month ago. I’m super humbled and super honoured. They made the night special.

    “It was super fun to see a lot of old teammates and old coaches. Some of my favourite moments were with the Stars. To be able to celebrate with them again was pretty special.”

    Last season, Clark was on hand when the University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team retired the #10 of Mark Johnson, who was one of their all-time player greats.

    She never imagined that her number with the Stars would be retired less than a year after attending the ceremony to retire Johnson’s number.

Emily Clark watches her number get raised up Merlis Belsher Place.

    In a crazy twist on the Stars front, Clark was actually the last player to wear #13 for her hometown female midget AAA squad. No one from the Stars has worn #13 since Clark last played for the club in the 2011-12 campaign.

    “To think that no one has worn it I guess is pretty special,” said Clark. “With some of the national team players, it is just like a respect thing that you don’t take certain people’s numbers.

    “To know that girls had that kind of respect to hold me in that regard is pretty special.”

    Clark played three seasons for the Stars from 2009 to 2012 appearing in 82 regular season games collecting 45 goals and 46 assists for 91 points.

Emily Clark’s number is raised up at Merlis Belshler Place.

    Her best season came in her final campaign in 2011-12. During that season with the Stars, Clark appeared in 26 regular season game collecting 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points.

    Clark’s 34 helpers are still a Stars record for most assists in one regular season. Her 60 points is still a team record for most points in one regular season, but it was matched in the 2017-18 campaign by Mackenna Parker, who tallied a club record 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games.

    Clark said one of the things she loved the most about being part of the Stars was getting to experience the social aspect of the dressing room. Before joining the Stars, Clark played boys hockey in Saskatoon in the Flyers zone.

    When she played boys hockey, Clark, of course, suited up for games on her own in a separate dressing room.

Emily Clark, centre, drops the puck for a ceremonial faceoff.

    “I always loved hockey, but I was missing that part of being a part of the team was that locker room stuff,” said Clark. “When I started to play with the Stars, I fell in love with hockey that much more just because of all the fun I was having with the girls.”

    Clark said the veterans nicknamed her “recess” during her rookie campaign, because she was still in elementary school, while most of the veterans were in high school. During her time with the Stars, Clark skated with a number of teammates who were characters that had character, which helped provide many fun times.

Emily Clark, centre, greets the captains of the Stars and Rebels.

    “I got to play with some amazing people like Marley Ervine, Lauren Zary, Sara Greschner and Brooke Mutch,” said Clark, who helped the Stars advance to the SFMAAAHL championship series in 2010, 2011 and 2012. “For me, I looked up to them, because they were so much older than me.

    “They took me under their wing and took care of me. They shaped a lot of who I was in high school, so I am really grateful for all the girls I got to play with.”

    Following the 2011-12 campaign, Clark left the Stars to join the Okanagan Hockey Academy female prep junior team in Penticton, B.C., for two seasons from 2012 to 2014. In those two campaigns, Clark appeared in 57 games collecting 34 goals and 35 assists for 69 points.

    Clark then joined the storied Badgers women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks and played four seasons for them spread out from 2014 to 2019.

Emily Clark is pictured with some young fans at Friday’s game.

    She appeared in 147 overall games with the Badgers posting 70 goals and 76 assists for 146 points. Clark helped the Badgers win their fifth NCAA title in team history last season.

    The Badgers blanked the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-0 in the NCAA title game last March.

    On the international stage, Clark helped Canada win goal at two straight under-18 women’s championships in 2012 and 2013.

    She suited up for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team for four women’s world champions winning silver medals in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and a bronze medal this past April in Finland to go with her silver medal from the Winter Olympics.

Arden Kliewer makes one of her 55 saves in goal for the Stars.

    Looking back on her career so far, Clark said there weren’t that any female players from Saskatchewan joining the NCAA ranks, when she joined the Badgers.

    “Playing for Wisconsin was kind of like a dream that I didn’t even know I had once I got down there and got treated the way I did there,” said Clark. “There is nothing like university hockey whether it is (U Sports) or NCAA.

    “Playing on the national team and being able to get in at such a young age is something that is really special to me. Obviously, I am lucky to still be around and still be playing and living my dream.”

    With that said, Clark still plans to be in the game for some time to come.

Lauren Focht netted the equalizer and winner for the Rebels.

    “I still have a lot of story left to be written,” said Clark. “As much as I have been excited about the career I have been able to have, I am excited for the future too.”

    As for Friday’s game itself, Hanna Bailey gave the Rebels 1-0 lead early in the first period, but the Stars exited the opening frame with a 2-1 advantage with goals coming from captain Makena Kushniruk and Anica Gauthier.

    The Stars extended their lead to 3-1, when Kushniruk netted her second of the contest early in the third.

    The Rebels closed the third with three straight goals to post the come-from-behind 4-3 victory. Bailey netted her second of the contest, while Lauren Focht scored the equalizer and winner for the visitors.

Emily Clark, centre, is pictured with some of her old Stars teammates.

    Arden Kliewer turned away 55 shots to take the setback in goal for the Stars (5-10-2). Payton Schlamp stopped 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels (12-0-1).

    The Stars and Rebels go at it again on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    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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Stars lock up first in SFMAAAHL for fifth straight year

Leschyshyn nets winner in 2-1 OT victory over Rebels

Anna Leschyshyn drives home the OT winner for the Stars on Sunday.

    It seemed fitting that the longest serving members of the Saskatoon Stars played key roles in delivering another first place finish for the team.

    On Sunday at Merlis Belsher Place, captain Grace Shirley scored in overtime and assistant captain Anna Leschyshyn drove home the winning goal on a power play with 53.2 seconds remaining in overtime to power the Stars past the Regina Rebels 2-1 in a stellar Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season game.

    With the win, the Stars improved to 22-1 and clinched first place in the SFMAAAHL regular season standings for a fifth straight year.

Grace Shirley, left, scored her 90th career regular season goal on Sunday.

    Saskatoon earns a bye into a best-of-five semifinal series in the SFMAAAHL playoff due to topping the regular season standings.

    The Rebels continued to sit second in the SFMAAAHL standings as their record moved to 16-5-3.

    “It is awesome,” said Shirley. “Each year we put in the work, and we just try to improve and develop.

    “I think it is definitely working. It is nice to see for sure.”

    “It is important to win against the second place team, because we might have to play against them in playoffs,” said Leschyshyn. “I think just being able to clinch first and have that bye weekend is just an advantage on our half.”

Anna Leschyshyn drives into the offensive zone for the Stars.

    Shirley and Leschyshyn are the only two players to have skated with the Stars in all five of the seasons in their current streak of consecutive first place finishes. Both are in their 17-year-old and final seasons of midget AAA hockey.

    Both saw time with the Stars as 13-year-old underage players in the 2014-15 campaign, which marked the first time the Stars ever topped the SFMAAAHL standings.

    Shirley appeared in three regular season games, five SFMAAAHL playoff games and all seven contests that Stars took part in at the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament. Leschyshyn saw action in three regular season games and five SFMAAAHL playoff games.

Grace Shirley cuts across the front of the offensive zone for the Stars.

    Both elevated themselves to full time status the next season and took up spots as two of the best players the circuit has ever seen.

    Shirley, who helped Canada recently win gold at the women’s world under-18 hockey championships in Obihiro, Japan, said she still goes through times when it doesn’t seem like that 2014-15 campaign was that long ago.

    “Thinking back on it, it seems like yesterday, but it was a while ago,” said Shirley. “I think it is kind of cool to see how much we’ve kind of grown and developed.

    “It is definitely neat.”

    Leschyshyn can still remember a lot of details from the time she played with the Stars as an associate player call up often splitting time with Shirley.

    “It was crazy,” said Leschyshyn. “Jenna Nash tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), so then we rotated back and forth.

Larissa Bohlken controls the puck at the point for the Rebels.

    “I got to play in that finish game where they won. I think it is just something that I will remember forever and just had a really good experience. I think I can bring that into this year’s playoffs.”

    In Sunday’s game against the Rebels, Shirley opened the scoring at the 3:05 mark of the first period. The goal was the 90^th career goal of her SFMAAAHL career, and currently, she is only the second player in the history of the league to pull off that feat.

    “I honestly didn’t really know that was the 90^th,” said Shirley, who is the fourth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL posting 90 goals and 64 assists for 154 points in 102 career regular season games. “It is cool, but at the same time, I think I am just trying to play my best hockey right now and work hard.”

Rebels G Payton Schlamp stops Stars D Ashley Messier.

    Still, Sunday’s clash with the Rebels had the feel of a playoff game. The same intensity existed when the two sides met Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place and the Stars pulled out a 4-2 win in that contest.

    In Sunday’s game, Stars netminder Arden Kliewer and Rebels goalie Payton Schlamp were making big save after big save. Kliewer stopped 31 shots, while Schlamp turned away 32 shots.

    Regina broke through on the scoreboard with 3:07 on the scoreboard, while working on the power play. Rebels winger Lauren Focht buried the rebound of a shot taken by Regina defender Brooklyn Stevely to tie things up at 1-1.

Ashley Messier had an assist on the Stars OT winner.

    After playing through a scoreless third period, the Stars caught a break in overtime, when Focht was penalized for hooking.

    On the ensuing power play, Leschyshyn got the puck from offensive defender Ashley Messier, circled across the front the Regina goal and blasted the winner past Schlamp to give the Stars their 2-1 victory. With her overtime winner, Leschyshyn became just the sixth player in the history of the SFMAAAHL to score 70 or more regular season goals.

    “It is really nice,” said Leschyshyn, who is the fifth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL posting 70 goals and 74 assists for 144 points in 110 career regular season games. “We lost to them in Regina (on Jan. 13), so it is good to get a little bit of revenge and sweep this weekend.

    “I think it is really important that we finish hard and outplayed them at the end there.”

    Stars head coach Greg Slobodzian, who has guided the club to all of their first place finishes, said it has been impressive to see how much of an impact Shirley and Leschyshyn have made to Saskatoon’s success over the run of first place finishes.

Rebels W Lauren Focht, left, battles Stars W Jayda Sachs for the puck.

    “It is something,” said Slobodzian. “It just goes to show you their dedication and commitment, because that is a long time to be around one team.

    “For the fact that they’ve contributed to put us into first place again like that, it is special. Those are two kids that I’m sure really appreciate and enjoy that.”

    The veteran bench boss said the run of five straight first place finishes speaks highly of all the players who have played for the Stars during that period of time.

    “The rewards are nice,” said Slobodzian. “Whenever we are coaching and talking in practice, it is just about getting better and the process.

    “The fact that you get those accolades obviously means the girls are putting in the work. It is definitely rewarding. I’m sure once you sort of sit back and look at it, you will be like, “Holy cow that was a good run.””

The Stars celebrate their OT win over the Rebels on Sunday.

    The Stars return to action on Feb. 7, when they travel to Battleford to take on the Battlefords Sharks at 7:30 p.m. at the Battleford Arena. The Rebels also resume play on Feb. 7, when they host the Notre Dame Hounds at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.