After posting their best record in team history, the St. Albert Slash started the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League playoffs Friday against the Spruce Grove Saints.
The score from Troy Murray Arena was unavailable at press time.
Game two in the best-of-three north division semifinal goes tonight at 8:15 p.m. at Tri-Leisure Centre. If needed, game three is Sunday at 12:15 p.m. at Performance Arena.
In the north the Slash (23-6-3) finished second, 32 points ahead of the third-place Saints (8-23-1). They also beat the Saints four times in league play by scores of 4-3, 4-0, 11-0 and 7-2.
Despite their domination, Slash head coach Terry Sydor believes the Saints are still a capable opponent.
"They're coming off a playoff victory where they were successful in the first round. They also had a very positive season to secure third spot in the north," said Sydor. "They'll be good and excited so it's our challenge to come with intensity and energy and play hard."
In the best-of-three opening playoff round the Saints swept the last-place Grande Prairie Storm (3-25-4). Scores were 4-0 and 6-3.
The Slash had a bye as the number two playoff seed in the north.
"It's the first time ever that we finished this high, where we were one of the top two teams to get the bye," said Sydor. "We had a very full year so far with the trip to Boston and the Mac's tournament. We had lot of players who were busy in the summer with hockey too. The bye was great because it gave us a little time off."
Sydor is confident rust from the recent layoff will not be a problem for his squad.
"There's always the potential for that but we don't have a choice. You need to perform, whether you played the night before or have been off for a couple weeks. You have to get it done."
His only concern is that the Slash don't get caught looking ahead to the next series against a potential opponent in the Edmonton Thunder (27-0-5), the defending league champions and 2009 Esso Cup bronze medallists. After a 2-2 tie in October, the Slash lost the next three games to the Thunder by margins of 5-2, 3-1 and 6-4.
"We've been very careful to just focus on this round and our tasks at hand. In our practices and preparations, that is especially what we're doing. We will just try and win a hockey game and then go from there."
The high-powered Slash offence generated four more goals than the Thunder with 146 in 32 games. Sydor said this stat occurred without the help of some key players, a sign of the team's mental toughness.
"It gave us an opportunity to get additional players in certain situations and they responded very well. It's one of those things you can look at as a confidence standpoint and say we had some adversity and came through."
Captain Melissa Kueber led all league scorers with 31 goals, including seven on the power play, in 24 games. Jessica Kampjes ranked second in goals with 26 in 30 games.
Kueber, Kampjes and Karly Heffernan also finished in a three-way tie in the league scoring race with 47 points apiece. Heffernan also recorded the most assists in league play with 31 in 32 games.
Starting next Saturday, Kueber and Kampjes will play for U18 Alberta at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax, N.S. There are no league playoff games slated during the female hockey tournament at the Canada games.
Esso Cup tickets
Meanwhile, tickets are now on sale for the April 17 to 23 national female midget championship at Servus Credit Union Place.
A full event ticket package for general admission to all 19 games, including the semifinals and medal games, can be purchased online for $50 at www.hockeycanada.ca/essocup.
Individually priced tickets will go on sale at a later date.
The tournament consists of five regional champions (Pacific, West, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic) and the Slash. The five-day round robin draw (three games per day) is followed by the April 22 semifinals and the April 23 medal games. The gold-medal final will be broadcast on TSN.
Every game can be viewed online through hockeycanada.fasthockey.com for $7 per game.
The Esso Cup is hosted by the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association and the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club.
