PENHOLD - The Central Alberta Amazons are once again near the top of their league thanks to a strong team effort this season.
The Amazons finished regular season play Feb. 19 with a 16-12 record (36 points), taking second place in the team's division and third overall in league standings. The Amazon's season wrapped up at the multiplex with a hard fought 4 - 1 victory over the Cochrane Chaos.
Playoffs began on Feb. 25 and will wrap up with the league finals by the end of March.
"Some of our players are attending college so they will come out and try out for our team," said team manager Heather Kirkham.
The Amazons are a Junior A female hockey team now based in Penhold. The team plays in the Alberta Junior Female Hockey League (AJFHL), one that consists of nine teams in two divisions - north and south. The Amazons play in the south division.
Players range in age from 17 to 21 and come from all over Alberta and the western provinces to play for the team, noted Kirkham, adding the Amazons have been in Central Alberta for several years, first based in Red Deer and moving to Penhold five years ago.
"There's an opportunity for league-competitive female hockey after minor hockey is done here in Central Alberta," she said, pointing out the support and compassion they show players, while embracing growth and life skills.
"It's a great foundation, it's a fabulous sport. It's fun and it's (about) team playing," said Kirkham, noting some key factors in this season's success.
"We've got strong defence on the back end, we've got some goal-scorers who are really helping and the girls pass very well," she said, noting strong goaltending as well. "We don't have any one person on the team who plays as an individual.
"The team that we've got here respect and appreciate each other and they're very, very tight knit," she added.
"The coaching staff have been fantastic. They have definitely encouraged them to work as a team, to stretch their skill set out, try some challenging things and expand their knowledge base."
The Central Alberta Amazons have captured the AJFHL league title before and with this season's success, there's little doubt the playoffs will be an exciting time for the team, she noted.
"We've been to the finals before and we've won the league before," said Kirkham. "We're respected, we play hard, we play well and we never give up."
Winning or not, Kirkham said there are a few things she wants her team to come away with at the end of the season.
"It'd be the icing on the cake for the young ladies to win the league, but at the end of the season if they played their hardest, did their best, still came out to play and still like each other, we're good," Kirkham concluded.
Heather Kirkham, team manager
"We're respected, we play hard, we play well and we never give up."
