It was down to the wire for the Central Alberta Amazons as the girls edged out the Lethbridge Jr. Eagles at the G.H. Dawe Community Centre in Red Deer 4-2 March 16, to sweep the Alberta Junior Female Hockey League southern division finals in two straight games.
The team had been down 2-1 into the third period after the Eagles soared on great efforts in the first two frames.
"They came out harder this game than they did in the first one at home,” said Amazons head coach Doug Demott. “Overall all the games we've played against them have been very close.”
Last year the Amazons lost the regional finals to Lethbridge and this season all the games between the two teams have been close. To beat them this year provided the vindication the girls were looking for.
Brianna Merkley broke the ice for the Amazons in the first, but the team didn't score again until mid-way through the final period.
“It was one-nothing. We tied it up then they went ahead 2-1,” coach Demott said, noting the team played well with tight checking.
On top of that they kept getting sent to the box. In total the team racked up 21 penalty minutes – more than double the previous game, when players hit the sin bin for a total of 10 minutes.
“Our penalty kill was actually the game changer,” he said. “We actually took the blade to them a little bit.”
During a five on four penalty kill with about 12 minutes left in the game, following a four on four, Taylor Demott knocked one in. The shorthanded goal got the momentum going for the girls.
“In the last half of that period we looked like the team that wanted to win more,” coach Demott said.
Kelsie Reed got the go-ahead goal at about 4:20, before Teale Spooner scored an empty netter to put the game – and the series – away for good.
“Our goalie played well this game,” Demott said, giving credit to Kelly Hausauer for keeping the team in the game during the goal drought. “She was probably the main reason we won.”
This was quite the accomplishment, since there was a big question mark around whether she would be able to play the game at all. During the last game her head was hit in her crease and she banged her neck and back. Aly Andersen was brought in to finish out the game.
The Amazons squeaked out a 1-0 win in that game, with Merkley grabbing the lone goal. Taylor Demott and Kelly-Anne Roberts both got assists in that game, held at the Lethbridge Adams Ice Centre.
In the end Hausauer agreed to take on the challenge of suiting up for the Amazons once again.
The Amazons will head off to Fort Saskatchewan this weekend to begin a best of five series against the Fury for the Junior Girls provincial championship.
Demott says playing in the Alberta finals will be an important moment for the players. It will be crucial to close all the defensive holes in order to come out ahead, he added.
“To beat them we're just going to have to play a hard forecheck,” he said, stressing he thinks the team can win even through the Fury have won 21 games straight. “Overall it would be something they'd remember for the rest of their lives.”
The Amazons have lost in past outings this year against the Fury, but showed their true grit along the way.
“We were competitive,” he said.
The Fort Saskatchewan team finished the season at the top of the northern division with a 23-5 record.
