In a historic first for the Springbank-based private school, the Edge’s female prep hockey team ended the 2019-20 regular season at the top of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) standings.
The Edge Mountaineers senior girls’ team (midget AAA) capped off the regular season March 1 with a 3-2 overtime win over the second-place Pursuit of Excellence (PoE). Grade-12 forward Kaitlin Jockims – the Edge’s joint top-scorer this year, with 52 points – potted the winner.
“Any opportunity when you find yourself sitting at number one, whether it’s at the end of the regular season or playoffs, you have to take a moment and be proud of the effort that’s gone into that,” head coach Carla MacLeod said. “In our group, for the duration of the season, the players have kept the right mindset of making sure to get better every day.”
The Edge dominated the regular season, topping the female prep division with a 20-3-1 record and a +106 goal differential. With a high-octane offence and a resolute defence, the Edge won all but four games, finishing three points above PoE.
“It showed the parity within our league, that first and second place were decided on the final day of the regular season,” MacLeod said. “PoE is such a great opponent of ours, and a great competitor. To be able to face them and have [first place] on the line was kind of perfect.”
With first place secured, the Edge will take its positive momentum into the CSSHL post-season. As usual, the Canada-wide private school hockey league’s playoffs will operate under a tournament format in Penticton, B.C., from March 5 to 15. The female prep division kicks off its tournament March 7.
MacLeod said the tourney will be an opportunity for the Edge players to shift gears mentally.
“Regular-season play is great because you grow and develop throughout the whole time,” she said. “Short-term competition or playoff-style, like this, is about performance on demand. It’s a little bit of a different entity, and it’s a great opportunity for all the teams going, because any team could earn their way into the final game.”
While the Edge will head into the tournament as the division’s top seed, MacLeod is hesitant to use that as justification to call the Mountaineers the favourite.
“Seeding is seeding,” she said. “At the end of the day, I think all the programs in our league understand that it’s about getting better throughout the year, and it doesn’t matter if you’re seeded first or eighth – you have to play the game.
“It comes down to which teams play the right hockey at the right time.”
Even so, with an ongoing eight-game win streak that dates back to Feb. 8, the Edge will take a high level of confidence into the playoffs, according to MacLeod.
“Energy within a team is a big piece of any team’s success,” she said. “Certainly, there’s an excitement to get out to Penticton – it’s what we talk about all year, making sure we’re playing the right style of hockey at the right time.
“Along the way, you get little nuggets of confidence that, hopefully, build your foundation for these kinds of moments. There will be nerves and everything else, but it’s fun that way and that’s why you’re an athlete, so you get those kinds of opportunities.”
For scores, visit championships.csshl.ca
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
