Sherwood Park – While regular season play has barely begun in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League, the St. Albert Slash can already check the first obstacle off their list.
After a 30-minute delay dropping the puck in Sherwood Park, the Slash overcame a slow start to defeat the hometown Fury 5-2 Wednesday.
Although the first period shot total was tilted 9-6 in St. Albert’s favour, the Fury managed to sneak one past second-year goaltender Chloe Sanderson off a giveaway at the blueline.
Slash head coach Terry Sydor believes the opening frame could be directed to the pre-game jitters that build up before the season.
“It’s early in the year and the girls are quite nervous. There is a lot to learn in a short period of time,” he said.
Slash captain Melissa Kueber put her team back on top in the second period with two of her four goals on the night, along with a helper by Sabrina Flemming. Kueber’s performance was a welcome addition to the squad, which missed her in last Saturday’s 6-2 loss in Red Deer, according to Sydor.
“She’s our captain and one of our leaders and she had opportunities and scored, which she has done in the past,” he said. “ It’s good to see. She came in and stepped up huge for our team.”
The sudden change in the team dynamic throughout the second period was a growth in confidence.
“We started off really slow but as the game went on we got better. We are a new team so we have things to improve on but I think we are going to be really good this year,” said Kueber. “Hopefully we go all the way.”
The Slash peppered the Fury with shots throughout the game, for a respectable total of 37-16. Sydor was quick to praise his team for staying the course even when they faced a remarkable goaltending performance by Krysten Pattison.
“We had a lot of chances and their goaltender is very strong. That can sometimes frustrate a team but we kept waiting,” he said.
The third period was met with some animosity after Joanne Mosiuk of the Fury was assessed a five-minute penalty for body checking.
“It was an unfortunate incident. Things happen in the game that sometimes cause a team to lose their focus and become distracted but we remained focused,” said Sydor.
After the first league win of the season, Sydor believes his team will have to work on a variety of skills as the season progresses towards the playoffs.
“We need to be stronger at our end. We still have people watching who are unsure of what their responsibilities are and whether they should take chances or not.”
Improving the overall team game begins with a simple virtue that players sometimes forget.
“We need to work on communication, that’s the starting point. If they can communicate better, then they can work better together.”
The host team for the 2011 Esso Cup national female midget championship is back on the ice tonight against the Spruce Grove Saints. Game time is 6:30 p.m. at Grant Fuhr Arena.
