PENHOLD - The Central Alberta Amazons may be in for a battle in their fourth visit to the Alberta Junior Female Hockey League (AJFHL) Finals.
The Amazons clinched the 2016-17 south division championship title after sweeping both the Lethbridge Jr. Eagles and the Cochrane Chaos in rounds one and two of the AJFHL playoffs.
They won the league championships back in the 2010-11 season and now face the north division champions the Sherwood Park Steele in this year's finals.
The Central Alberta Amazons fell 3-0 in Game 1 on Saturday but rebounded with a 2-1 victory on Sunday, tying the championship series at 1-1.
"They faced two very tough teams in the playoffs," said Rick Potter, head coach. "They're intense, they're very dedicated and they're working hard.
"The only thing on their mind right now is to win (the league championships)."
The AJFHL finals began with games 1 and 2 in Penhold on March 18 and 19. The best-of-five series heads north to Sherwood Park for games 3 and 4 on March 25 and 26 with a deciding Game 5 if necessary.
The Amazons split two regular season games with the Sherwood Park Steele and know what they must do in the finals to shut them down.
"Their goaltending is probably in the Top 3 (in the league). We have to forecheck them a lot quicker and really outwork them," said Potter. "We have to leave it to our goal scorers to score goals for us."
Potter noted some key factors that helped the team earn a spot in the finals.
"Our goaltending has been very good. We got very mobile defence and we always have three high scoring lines and one checking line but they all can put the puck in the net," he added.
"Our power play has also been good over the last four games."
Potter praises his team captain Emma Malsbury, and the team's three assistant captains for their leadership on and off the ice.
"We're a super hard working team and we're resilient on the ice," said Malsbury. "We don't stop pressuring, we don't stop putting the puck to the net and every player from our goalies to defence to forwards just works hard."
Malsbury said no matter the challenge facing them on the ice, the girls are ready to leave it all out there.
"Everyone is super excited and everyone wants to be here. Everybody is focused to get the championship and everybody is ready to put in the work to get that championship," Malsbury concluded.
Rick Potter, head coach
"The only thing on their mind right now is to win (the league championships)."
