The road to the Canadian Ringette Championships wasn’t as smooth as last year’s journey for the zone 5 junior AA team.
As the Snipe, the zone 5 ringers lost only two games last winter, suffering both defeats at the 2009 nationals, including the gold-medal game. This year the Pace are 21-5-2 as zone 5 repeated as Ringette Alberta champions.
“Winning provincials last year kind of made us the team to beat this year,” said co-captain Stephanie Bolduc of St. Albert. “Throughout this season we definitely had our ups and downs. Going into provincials we were actually the underdogs because we had been beat by Calgary pretty recently.”
A tight 2-1 win over Calgary Forte in the recent provincial final at Edmonton punched zone 5’s ticket to nationals, starting April 5 at Saskatoon.
“We definitely deserved it,” Bolduc said. “It was a really close game but we were the better team. We were in control the whole time.”
The Pace peaked at the right time after going 16-5-2 in five tournaments. They finished 2-2-1 at the Golden Ring in Calgary and 2-1-1 at the Gloucester Cumberland Invitational in Ottawa, falling short of the medal round. The Pace also lost games to Forte in both tourneys.
“We didn’t exactly dominate as a team but we had a very strong group of girls and we had efforts from everyone,” said head coach Paul Bechard. “There isn’t one or two players that stand out. We have a lot of very good players, and in my opinion a team can go further if you have four or five kids that do all the scoring as opposed to one or two that do all the scoring.”
Leading up to nationals last year, the Snipe racked up 31 wins and five ties as winners of six tournaments, including provincials.
“It wasn’t the same year as last year where they just sort of steamrolled through pretty much all the tournaments they went to. This year we won a couple and lost a couple,” Bechard said of the two golds and one silver by the Pace.
At provincials the Pace went undefeated in five games. After squeaking out a one-goal decision over Edmonton Elite, the Pace breezed past Forte and Calgary Prime then closed out the round robin with a decisive win over the Central Alberta Sting for a berth in the final.
“We really had to work for it. There was really tough competition this year. Any team could’ve came out on top,” centre Sasha Stadnyk of St. Albert. “We kind of overcame everything and came together as a team. We really clicked.”
Wearing the Alberta jersey on the national stage for the second year in a row is too good to be true for Stadnyk, Bolduc, co-captains Alyssa Cancian of St. Albert and Kelsey Hupka of Fort Saskatchewan and St. Albert products Kennedie Wolosyn and Kyra Parayko as returning junior AA players.
“Last year we were so excited to represent the province and it’s the same this year too, it’s just more unexpected this time. Everything kind of fell into place for us,” Stadnyk said. “It’s such a great feeling of knowing that you were the top team in your province again.”
Medal expectations are high for zone 5 after last year’s silver medal showing in Charlottetown, P.E.I. and the historic gold-medal victory by Valta, the undefeated junior host team at the 2008 nationals in St. Albert.
“Last year we were extremely well rounded and that’s the same with this year. When we play with our offence and defence working together as a unit, we can beat Canada pretty much,” said Bolduc, a Grade 10 Paul Kane High School student. “This year we play kind of a different style because we have a different coach [Marc Boisjoli was the Snipe bench boss]. On the ice there are a lot of different techniques being used but in the dressing we’re all just as tight and we all love each other just as much.”
The Pace roster of 17 players includes 11 newcomers to nationals and 10 skaters in their second year of junior.
“It’s a totally different group of girls this year but we still produce a lot of intensity to the games,” said Stadnyk, a Snipe forward last year. “Our defence is always solid. Offensively, when we start opening up the ice and really passing and creating the open spaces that helps us get goals.”
Last year the Alberta reps fell short of a gold medal in the 4-1 loss to Ontario. Their only goal was scored with one tick on the clock.
“It was a heartbreaker,” said Stadnyk, 16, a Grade 10 Paul Kane student. “This year we’re looking to do the best we can and hopefully come out on top this time. It should help that a lot of us have been there. We can take that experience and put it towards us getting back into that gold medal game.”
In the 5-4 semifinal win against Quebec, a dramatic overtime goal by Wolosyn, her third of the game, on a pass by Bolduc on the power play propelled Alberta into the final.
“We have just as much potential this year to not only get back into the final but win it,” Bolduc said. “That loss [in the final] last year was maybe the saddest I’ve ever been at a ringette game and I don’t really want to feel that again.”
“It was a true confidence booster. I’ve never really been that honoured before.”
The best advice Bolduc can give those players making their national debuts is don’t get caught up in the hype.
“There’s a lot of pressure at nationals and I know last year I was feeling the nerve. We have to kind of guide the first years through it and hopefully it won’t get to them.”
