It’s been a fantastic season for female minor hockey in Red Deer and on Sunday the Sutter Fund Chiefs completed the trifecta.
They became Alberta Female Hockey League U18 AA provincial champions after defeating the North Central Impact 1-0 in the gold medal game in Leduc.
Just over a week ago, the U15 AA team won the bronze medal in provincials in Red Deer and the U18 AAA squad became provincial champions in Edmonton.
The most recent victory by the U18 AA team completes a memorable hockey season for girls’ minor hockey in Red Deer.
Head coach Cal McConnell said winning the title is a surreal feeling.
“We had quite a run down the stretch. We were 14-1 to finish the year off,” he said.
“The girls bought in and worked very hard.”
The Chiefs won in exciting fashion on Sunday.
Late in the third period, Karly Currie scored with approximately six minutes left on the clock and goaltender Mackenzie Gould-Sharpe had a game to remember making 21 saves and securing the shutout.
“Yeah, it was a nail-biter. The referees basically let them play playoff hockey and it was tight checking. I think there was one powerplay in the whole game so it was very exciting to watch,” he said.
“Any provincial championship is very hard to win and they were aware of that. Seven returning players are retiring this year from minor hockey, so it meant the world to the whole team to try and get them a championship on their way out.”
During the regular season, the Chiefs finished third in the North Division with a record of 16-10 but when it came to playoff time they went undefeated.
In four games they were victorious against the Southern Express and the Calgary Fire White to book their spot in provincials.
Once provincials arrived last week they finished 3-1 in round-robin play losing only one game to the St. Albert Sharks. Despite the loss, they still earned a spot to compete for gold.
“During the year we lost many one-goal games and I believe we learned from those games. We found a way to push through and battle every shift to turn that in our favour,” he added.
This season Devon McConnell led the Chiefs with 34 points but Currie was right behind with 23 points.
McConnell said he was proud of Currie for coming up with a clutch goal in the gold medal game.
“The golden goal, she’s played her heart out all year and has been a huge contributor to our offence. It couldn’t have happened to a better player,” he said.
“Our goalie Mackenzie stole the show [in the gold medal game]. She was definitely a huge reason for our success she was dialed in for the whole weekend.”
