The St. Albert Slash will spend the Christmas break going for gold at the Mac’s midget AAA tournament in Calgary.
The St. Albert ladies are busy getting ready for the international competition after earning a spot with a winning record in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League.
“There is a lot of preparation going on,” says head coach Phil Webb. “We’re making sure our power play and penalty kill are up to speed. We’re going to make a few adjustments on the power play and we’ll simplify it a little bit.”
Part of the preparation takes the form of tournament play. The Slash are in Saskatchewan this weekend at the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament at Notre Dame College. The team finished 0-4-1 last year and is hoping for a better showing in their lead-up to the Mac’s.
“We can compete with anyone and I think the Mac’s will be kind of a test to see where we’re at; if we’re as far along as I think we are or if we still need more work to challenge for that provincial title,” Webb says.
The Slash have proven to be tough competitors, especially after posting a 3-2 win and 4-4 tie in their last two match-ups with the No. 1-ranked Edmonton Thunder (14-3-3). The Slash sits in the No. 3 spot in the north division at 10-7-3.
“We’re getting better every game out,” Webb says. “We’ve been able to compete with the top teams in the league, so that is always important.”
With their 1-0-2 record against Edmonton, as well as a win and a tie on the books against the No. 2 ranked Grande Prairie Storm (12-5-5), the St. Albert ladies are clearly doing something right.
“All the girls have bought into the team-first concept. They’re a tight group, they work together and they’re improving on the things we’re asking them to improve on,” Webb says. “Our goaltending has been outstanding too.”
Kaelin Klim (6-4-3, 2.09 GAA) is currently ranked eighth in the league and has played the second most minutes in the net than the other top 10 goalies.
Klim also seems to be getting more support from the team’s defence – an area where the Slash struggled at the beginning of the season.
“We’re a lot better in our defensive zone than we were. The centre support, the wing support and that sort of stuff took a while to develop, but I think it’s there now,” Webb says.
A more robust roster has also helped the team’s performance. At the start of the season, twins Deanna and Ashley Morin and Jessica Dyck were away for the Team Alberta U18 tryouts. In November the Morins were gone again with provincial team commitments and the National Women’s U18 Championship.
Playing without key players can be a bit disruptive for a team, but the Slash are getting their mojo back.
“(The twins) are back full-time now and we’re able to get our chemistry going,” Webb says. “Obviously our lines are way better set than they were earlier in the year when we were flipping players back and forth into different spots just to fill a full roster in games.”
Ashley and Deanna Morin are a force on the ice as the third- and fourth-ranked players in league scoring with 29 and 27 points respectively in 15 games.
“They’re playing together with Kate Lumley and Kate’s had a really good year for us as well. She is averaging over a point a game,” Webb says.
Lumley’s father, Dave, is a former forward with the Edmonton Oilers. She and the Morins form a powerful line combination, a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed by competitors. Webb promises to change things up when opposing teams start to really try to check that line.
“Sometimes just getting them apart is as beneficial as keeping them together. I’ll just flip centres between a couple of lines and try something different. We did the same thing against Edmonton last weekend. They played together for two periods, then we flipped it around and we got two goals in the third and ended up tying the game.”
The only player still missing from the team is Megan Lalor, who is out with a hip injury.
“She was a top scorer in the bantam AAA league last year, so if she was going at her full potential she would definitely be a huge impact on our line-up,” Webb says. “And, at this point, I don’t expect her back here for a bit.”
Webb took 11 forwards instead of 10 at the beginning of the season because he knew Lalor would be out of action.
“It’s worked out. It’s given other kids opportunities. Some kids have really stepped up and had probably above average seasons than I expect they would’ve had.”
One of those players is Jenna Jewell, the team’s top penalty killer.
“She’s a rookie and she’s been very good in the penalty kill role and has taken on a very good defensive role on the team.”
Another strong penalty killer is Rachel Rochat. Webb described the almost six-foot-tall skater as the biggest surprise of the season, as evidenced in the last game against Edmonton.
“She doesn’t play a lot of power play, but I said, ‘You know what, just go plant yourself in front of the net,’ and next thing I know the puck is in the net,” Webb says. “She’ll do whatever you want.”
