After finishing with the bronze medal at provincials last year, the Zone 2 U16AA Blaze ringette team moved up two spots on the podium this season. The Blaze claimed the gold at the 2020 AA Ringette Provincial Championships, Feb. 27 to March 1 in Spruce Grove, after skating to a 5-4 win over the St. Albert Mission.
“It felt pretty great,” said defenseman Natalie Sobocan, one of the team’s seven players from Cochrane. “We were down by two goals in the first period, but then we fought back and won.
“I was really proud of everyone, because we put in a lot of hard work throughout the year, including practices and mental training. It all paid off when we won gold.”
The tournament got off to a great start for the Blaze, with the team overcoming teams from Calgary, Sherwood Park and Spruce Grove in the round robin.
The team booked its berth in the championship fixture by defeating the Calgary Tenacity in a hard-fought semi-final. According to coaches, the teams were neck-and-neck throughout the battle, until Alyssa Bailie scored the winning tally for Zone 2 on a breakaway in overtime.
“Our coaching staff really helped us stay calm throughout the whole game,” Sobocan said. “When it did come down to a stressful situation in overtime, we had trust in each other, focused and stayed calm. We put in everything we had, and it came out as a positive result.”
The gold-medal game provided similar excitement – St. Albert and Zone 2 were tied 4-4 late in the game, before Rachel Bushfield sniped the winner in the final few minutes. The championship-winning shot was her fourth goal of the match.
“I think we just trusted each other and settled down,” Sobocan said. “We stayed calm and knew we could do it.”
While Zone 2 has won provincial banners at the U14 age group, this year marks the first time the association’s U16 squad has won Alberta’s top ringette honour.
Zone 2 AA ringette, which formed in 2015, provides AA-calibre teams for local players in U14, U16 and U19. The three teams are comprised of elite-level players from Cochrane, Airdrie, Strathmore and the surrounding communities, who try out for the select squads after excelling within their local associations.
Despite being relatively young, Zone 2 has punched above its weight in recent years. Last year, the association’s U14 team dominated the AA provincials before winning the Western Canadian Ringette Championships. Many of the players from last year’s U14 squad moved up to the Blaze this year, which bolstered the team’s competitiveness.
As a result of winning provincials, the Blaze will be Alberta’s top seed for the U16 age group at the Canadian Ringette Championships in Ottawa, April 4 to 11.
In 2019, Zone 2’s U16 team finished fifth at the national championships. This year, Sobocan said, the team is hungry for more, and added she’s excited to experience the highest level of youth ringette in Canada.
“There are a whole bunch of teams from throughout Canada competing at that level – it’s definitely the best,” she said. “[I’m looking forward to] just being there with my team, who will be supporting me, and I’ll be supporting them.”
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
