By Alissa Mcarthur /
It has been a landmark season for the advancement of elite female minor hockey in this province. While the formation of the Junior Women’s Hockey League afforded select players the opportunity to participate in high level tournaments across North America, the establishment of the Female Zone Midget league was a crucial step in raising the level of play for female players province-wide.
From March 17 to 20, the first BC Female Zone Midget Provincial Championships will be held in Langley, featuring the Pacific Steelers, Fraser Valley Phantoms, Vancouver Fusion and Prince George Panago Cougars.
Fusion head coach Pat Thibeault was thrilled to see female hockey in B.C. take the next step this season.
“[The league] was everything I was hoping for,” Thibeault said. “It allowed some of the top players in the province to play with players of the same skill level, and really helped them grow.”
Steelers’ bench boss Billy Coupland echoed Thibeault’s sentiments, but conceded that B.C. still has a ways to go.
“If you look at the roster of the national team, you can see the eastern bias because they’ve done a better job so far of promoting the female game and developing players,” Coupland noted, “but this Zone Midget league is a step in the right direction.”
“The biggest challenge is the lack of depth. It becomes clear when we go East and see the depth and quality of their players, and that’s still a work in progress in B.C. Zone Midget will help that, and hopefully we’ll start to see some more B.C. players selected to the national teams.”
As for the competition on the ice in Langley, Coupland, whose team finished atop the regular season standings, anticipates a hotly contested tournament.
“All four teams have been very competitive, and we’re all capable of beating each other.”
The Steelers, who are also members of the JWHL, will face a challenge with three key players in Ling Ling Lok, Dominique Goutsis, and Stefanie Klein unavailable for the tournament.
“It’ll give an opportunity for other players to step up, and as long as our work ethic is good, I don’t see any reason why we can’t be successful even though we’ll be a bit shorthanded,” said Coupland. “We’ve tried to focus on special teams and reinforce team discipline – not just staying out of the box, but just making good decisions on the ice. We have to make sure that as a group we’re prepared to play mentally and physically because the other teams aren’t going to hand us anything.”
The three-day championship will be played in a round robin format, with the top two teams facing off for the provincial title on the final day. Fraser Valley Phantom associate coach Dorene Sheets looked forward to a well-balanced competition to finish off the season.
“We’ve played very competitively in all of our games this year, both against these provincial competitors and all other teams,” Sheets said. “The competition at this tournament will be of a very high calibre and we believe our chances at success are based on our players’ commitment to team play.”
The Phantom, a diverse team made of players spanning the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, have been hard at work preparing for the season-ending tournament.
“Our entire yearly plan for practice and team development has been geared towards the provincials,” said associate coach David Mallo. “The most recent set of practices are focusing on team systems and special teams play…We’re also placing some emphasis on some new things to utilize against the other three teams, having played them all so much over the year.”
Fusion coach Thibeault also predicts a high level of competition, and is pleased with his team’s progress this season.
“The Steelers are a great team, very well coached, but on any given day, any team can be beaten, so it’s not impossible,” Thibeault said. “I’m really happy the way our team came together this year, with the progression of our young players, and the graduating players getting to play at a higher level.”
The winner of the Zone Midget Provincials will represent BC at the Western Canadian Female Midget Championships in St. Albert, Alberta, currently slated for April 2 to 6. |