As the Battlefords Sharks continue to build towards the future, their 2017 Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League quarter-final series with the Prince Albert Northern Bears will be a key moment in the team鈥檚 development.
Despite strong efforts all series, the seventh-seeded Sharks were unable to pull off the upset as their season came to an end Sunday in Prince Albert as the second ranked Northern Bears completed a three-game sweep.
鈥淲e really worked hard as a team throughout the whole series,鈥� Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said. 鈥淥ur efforts on defence against a really strong Prince Albert offence was the best that I鈥檝e seen from our girls all year long.
鈥淥ur penalty kill was very good and we started to get rewarded a bit on the power play, which had been a struggle for us near the end of the regular season. The girls played well in all three games and it was a good way to finish off the year.鈥�
Sunday鈥檚 series decider at the Art Hauser Centre saw the Northern Bears score three goals in the first period as they went on to a 7-3 win.
鈥淲e had our moments for sure, but we just couldn鈥檛 pull out that full 60-minute game we needed,鈥� Berggren said. 鈥淲e would have a shift here or there that was really good, and then we鈥檇 have a couple of shifts that were off, so we couldn鈥檛 get any momentum that way.
鈥淪ometimes when you are pushing things offensively, like we were doing, it makes things a little bit tougher for the defence. I think that鈥檚 what you saw in the final outcome.鈥�
Tori MacDonald had a goal and an assist to lead the way on offence for the Sharks, with their other goals coming from Jordan Kulbida and Alyssa Roach.
Chantel Weller turned in another strong performance in goal as she made 39 saves.
Camryn Admundson and Kate Ball both had three-point afternoons for the Northern Bears, who are currently waiting to see who they will face in the semifinals.
When it comes to next season, the Sharks will only see two players from this year鈥檚 roster age out of the midget ranks, as Dakota Peterson and Kulbida will playing post-secondary hockey at McKendree University in Illinois and the University of Regina, respectively.
With the rest of the team eligible to come back, Berggren is excited to see the growth of the returning players when the 2017-18 season gets underway.
鈥淔or many of the girls, this was their first year in the league and it鈥檚 big step for some of them as they get used to the speed and overall compete level,鈥� Berggren said.
鈥淵ou never really know what the roster is going to be like until opening night, but we鈥檝e got a good core here and I think they are going to get better and better over the next couple of years.鈥�
The next event on the ice for the Sharks will be at the Battleford Arena on April 1 and 2 as they hold their annual spring camp.
