The Rocky Mountain way leads to the provincial championships this week in Okotoks.
The Okotoks-based Raiders play host to the Hockey Alberta U18 Female AA Provincial Championships with a veteran-loaded roster eager for the opportunity to go out on a high note.
“I put it all towards our manager (Diane Bjornson) and the group of people behind the scenes making that happen,” said head coach Dave Hayes. “They supported it, the parents supported it and I think it’s pretty important for the fact that we have so many veterans and they have that opportunity to close out their minor hockey career and move onto the next level from there.
“It’s exciting for the town, it’s exciting for the community and it’s exciting for the team.”
The graduating group includes netminder Tara Den Hoed, forwards Rozene Sabeti-Seidel, Grace Bjornson, Amelia Lomas, Molly Sears, Avery Mahussier and blueliner Abby Graham.
“My first year I started we won at provincials (in 2016),” said Bjornson, the Raiders’ captain. “So it’s a nice well-rounded ending to be able to end the way it began.
“It’s a perfect way to end the season because either way you made it to provincials. You never know what can happen at provincials, if we come out on top, which I see us doing, it will be a way to send us off for sure.”
Parity has ruled the day all season in the U18 AA division and the playoffs were no exception.
The top two seeds in the North Division, the North Central Impact and Edmonton Pandas, were both eliminated in the second round of the postseason with Sherwood Park and St. Albert earning the two provincial berths.
In the South, Rocky Mountain is joined by the Red Deer Chiefs and Calgary Fire White.
Red Deer, the top team in the South during the regular season, downed the Raiders in three games in the second round.
Rocky Mountain, which earned an automatic berth to provincials as the host team, took out Airdrie in three games in the opening round of the playoffs.
The tournament runs March 28-31 at the Okotoks Centennial Arenas.
Rocky Mountain and Red Deer kick off the competition on March 28 at 11:15 a.m.
Each team plays four round-robin games with the top four squads advancing to the gold and bronze medal games at 1 p.m. and 10 a.m. on March 31, respectively.
For full schedule information, go to https://www.u18femaleaa.ca/stats/playoffs/103
