The three-time national champion St. Albert Bauer Slash U18 AAA female hockey team is off to a less than ideal start to the 2021/2022 season.
The team opened the year with a 3-2 win over the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs on Oct. 2, but has since dropped three straight.
A 1-3 record could be considered a cause for concern, but the team is staying patient with their approach to the season. They are a much younger team than seasons past, with just one player having a full year of experience at the AAA level, and head coach Dan Auchenberg has seen some positive things despite their record.
“I honestly think we have the characteristics, the tenacity, and the resiliency to become a very good team down the road,” said Auchenberg. “We’re a very inexperienced team at this level, but our desire and passion to learn is there and I really feel that, at the end of the season, we will be more defined and more structured.”
The losses haven’t been complete blowouts for the Slash. They have competed hard with the teams and came up short in a couple of 2-0 losses to more experienced teams such as the Calgary Fire and Edmonton Pandas. Their weekend loss against the Lloydminster PWM Steelers was also a tight 3-1 decision.
Losing close games can be tough, but Auchenberg said the team is staying positive and are confident their hard work will eventually turn into wins.
“The girls are very positive. I told them that it’s not about wins or losses right now, it’s about learning the game,” said Auchenberg. “We can’t forget that our first-years basically only had one year of bantam experience and our second-years only played four games last year [due to COVID] so they are basically first-years, too.
“Very inexperienced, but very committed players who want to get better, and I like our makeup and what we have in the room. They’re enjoying themselves and having fun — very positive on the bench.”
The focus for the team in the immediate future will be to continue to learn their roles on the team and how to properly utilize their strengths in the game. The ultimate goal will always be to get back to that national champion level they’ve achieved in the past, but Auchenberg said he will be happy as long as the team comes together by season’s end.
“As we go on and progress, I really think these girls want to learn and get better,” said Auchenberg. “They’re working hard at it so we will be OK ... as long as we get there at the end, that will be our goal.”
To call this a transition year for the Slash would be appropriate, but Auchenberg doesn’t want the team to get too ahead of themselves. He wants the focus to stay on the current season.
“You don’t always think of the next year, you worry about what is in front of you,” said Auchenberg. “We always have a goal to win, and we are going to do the best we can to be [in the playoff mix] at the end.”
The Slash will look to put those losses in the rearview mirror with back-to-back games this weekend as they welcome the Rocky Mountain Raiders to Go Auto Arena on Saturday with a 7:15 p.m. puck drop and then the Calgary Fire come to town on Sunday for an afternoon affair slated for a 1:30 p.m. start.
