The last time Mickey Girard coached the Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs major midget girls’ hockey team they were picking up silver medals at the Western Canadian championships.
That was in early 2008 at which time Girard indicated he was taking some time off.
But he wasn’t away long. Last year he returned to the bench with the bantam AAA girls’ program and this year was back with the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League squad.
“A lot of the girls we had last year moved up and Curtis (assistant coach Curtis Lansing) wanted to move up so I felt it was a good idea,” explained Girard, who added former midget and junior B boys’ coach, Mel Christensen, to the staff.
“Mel runs the defence and brings a lot of experience . . . overall it’s a very good group,” said Girard.
Girard has only seven returnees from last year and only four of those — defencemen Cassidy Anderson and Morgan Brandl, forward Janelle Froehler and goalie Camille Trautman — are in their final season with the program.
The other returnees are forward Jade Petrie and rearguards Rikki Leonard and Hannah Mousek, who is one of the premier defencemen in the province.
Some compare her to Amanda Young, who is with Cornell University and was a star on the Chiefs 2008 team.
“Hannah looks to have more one-on-one skills, but Amanda was a pure skater who could change a game,” said Girard. “Hannah could be one of the best players in the league and she has a year left. She does a lot of things right and has an outstanding shot.”
Girard also brought up six girls off last year’s bantam team, including back up goaltender Megan Kirkland.
Also moving up were forwards Taylor Hall, Presley Hollman, Krista Wilson and Reanna Arnold and defenceman Taryn Baumgardt.
“The girls have stepped in and are holding their own,” said Girard.
Forwards Emma Malsbury and Ashley Graf both played midget A in Red Deer while forwards Emily Lougheed and Suze Vanderlinde played in Innisfail.
Graf plays on a line with Froehler and Petrie with all three in the top eight in league scoring.
Petrie (16g, 9a) and Froehler (5g, 20a) are tied for sixth in league scoring with Graf (10g, 14a) eighth.
Trautman is fifth in the league with a 1.67 goals-against-average with Kirkland sixth at 1.71.
“We have the one line up in the scoring, but we have a balanced attack,” said Girard, who gives Froehler a lot of credit for the line’s success.
“She’s a great skater and passer and has the ability to set up Petrie and Graf.”
The Chiefs are one of the smaller teams in the league, but they possess outstanding team speed.
“We stress speed and conditioning,” said Girard. “Conditioning is a big part of our team, as it is with all teams, but because we stress speed it’s even more important for us.”
Despite being one of the younger teams in the league the Chiefs lead the South Division with a 15-2-2 record, and moved five points up on the Medicine Hat Hounds with a two-game weekend sweep of their southern rivals.
The Chiefs won 5-2 Saturday and 4-1 Sunday.
Vanderlinde, Mousek, Malsbury, Wilson and Graf scored Saturday while Trautman finished with 27 saves. The teams were tied 2-2 after the first period with Red Deer taking a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.
On Sunday, the Chiefs jumped into a 3-0 lead on a pair of goals by Arnold and one by Lougheed.
The Hounds made it 3-1 after the first period, but Wilson connected in the third to put the game away. Trautman finished with 25 saves.
l The Chiefs have already received their invite to compete in the Calgary Mac’s Christmas tournament . . . Chiefs return to action next Saturday when they host the Highwood Raiders at 4:30 p.m. at Kin City B.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com