The Saskatoon Stars held their final practice Thursday night before travelling to Nova Scotia for the national championship, the Esso Cup.
It marked their 82nd practice and their 237th day since their Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League season began.
“Every time we step on the ice, it’s always playing for the next time we get on the ice and playing for the girl beside us and that’s what we need to be doing,” Stars forward Joelle Fialla said.
“We can’t just be complacent with where we’re at or just be OK with getting there. We want to play where we want to be, not where we’re at.”
This will be the third time in four years the Stars have advanced to nationals. That experience and this group peaking at the end of the year has head coach Greg Slobodzian liking their chances.
“Our first time there you sort of get that wide-eyed, really excited (mentality) and now with the group that we have, quite a few of them obviously have been there one, two times, now three, and they just want to win it,” Slobodzian said.
“The last time we went to (the Esso Cup), our sticks got cold and we started missing pucks and nothing went good for us. This year, we’ve been prepared, we’ve been waking up early to get used to the time change and … we know what we need to do,” Stars forward Anna Leschyshyn said.
Anna Leschyshyn is focused on the chance to win the national title with her teammates, but for her father, assistant coach and former NHLer Curtis Leschyshyn, it would mean a pretty special memory with his daughter.
“It’s a little bit down the road yet but hopefully we can experience something that we’ll cherish for a long time,” Curtis Leschyshyn said.
Saskatoon opens up the tournament against Ontario’s Brampton Canadettes at 9 a.m. CT on Sunday at Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre in Bridgewater, N.S.
The gold medal game will be held on April 28.
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