The Airdrie Lightning AA midget women’s hockey team is riding high in the Alberta Female Hockey League (AFHL) Midget Elite. Halfway through the 2018-19 season, the Lightning boasts second place in the south division, with a 10-3 record. Airdrie enjoyed back-to-back wins on a road trip south Dec. 1 and 2. The team overcame the Lethbridge Cyclones 4-1 in the first game, before sneaking a 2-1 overtime victory over the Rocky Mountain Raiders in Dewinton the following day. Head coach Jay Simpson said the Lightning has been playing well in the AFHL, this season. “They’re buying into the system and buying into the philosophy of doing the right thing,” he said. “It’s been really nice to see them come together as a team.” Third-year forward Madison Black has been the Lightning’s main offensive threat, with nine goals and four assists so far this season – a points total that puts her third in the AFHL Midget Elite’s top scoring charts. Currently, Airdrie is just two points behind the division-leading Calgary Fire White, though the Fire has two games in hand. The two sides will take each other on in a top-of-the-table clash Dec. 8 at Genesis Place, with a start time of 7:15 p.m. In their previous meeting this season, the unbeaten Fire White overcame the Lightning 4-1. “We hung with them for two periods, and then we got tired,” Simpson said. “We’d had back-to-back games in a short turnaround, and just ran out of gas in the third period.” According to Simpson, defensive discipline will be the team’s focus against Calgary. “We have to be disciplined and not take too many penalties,” he said. “They scored a couple of power-play goals against us last time, and that hurt our chances.” Before the game against the Fire, however, the Lightning will look to keep its win streak going against the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs, Dec. 7 in Red Deer.
