Nearly two months after opening its season with an exhibition tournament in Burlington, Vt., the Edge School Mountaineers girls’ prep team will host its own Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL) tournament this weekend.
The JWHL’s West Weekend will take place from Oct. 29-31 at the Edge School campus’ twin arenas, where the Mountaineers will play the Warner School Warriors, Oct. 29 at 2:30 p.m., the Pacific Steelers of Richmond, B.C., Oct. 29 at 7:15 p.m., the Balmoral Hall Blazers of Winnipeg, Oct. 30 at 10:15 a.m. and the Minnesota Thoroughbreds of St. Paul, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Each team is a JWHL West Division rival, but Edge School girls’ head coach Mario Amantea says his team will be prepared.
“It’s not a big team, but the speed and skill levels are extremely high,” he said. “It’s an extremely tight-knit group, and depth is a real key for us this year.”
The Edge girls’ prep team, in its third season, hasn’t named a captain or any assistant captains for its current roster.
“We expect leadership from everyone,” said Amantea, who has coached the team all three seasons. “This is a group of excellent character players, and they all have great leadership capabilities.”
This weekend, the Mountaineers will also finally get to settle into its new state-of-the-art locker room, which received a $20,000 upgrade, funded by sponsorship and parent donations, this past summer.
“It’s a locker-room that any junior or university team would be proud of,” Amantea said. “All the girls have individual stalls with nameplates. We’ve had it carpeted with a large E in the centre of the room, college-style, and everyone knows not to step on the E. The girls take a lot of pride in our new room, and love being able to call it home.”
The Mountaineers (4W-1L in the JWHL and 8W-3L exhibition) won four of five games during its most recent tournament – the JWHL’s season-opener in Boston, Oct. 8-10. The team defeated the Colorado Select, Boston Shamrocks, Washington D.C. Pride and the National Sports Academy Mountaineers of Lake Placid, N.Y.
“This is the best league in the world for girls aged 16 to 18, no doubt about it,” Amantea said. “There are rosters in this league filled with U.S. national under-18 players. It’s clearly the best league out there to take high-level hockey players from high school to university.”
The Mountaineers, who missed last year’s JWHL playoffs after winning bronze two seasons ago, will travel to tournaments in Warner, Minneapolis, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Washington, D.C. in the coming months, while this season’s playoffs will be held in Madison, Wis.
The Edge School Mountaineers boys’ prep hockey team will also be in action at home this weekend, as they host the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Sabres, of Faribault, Minn., in a three-game exhibition series. Game times are Oct. 29 at 1 p.m., Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. and Oct. 31 at 8 a.m.
