Skylar Ackerman’s rink is back in Saskatchewan with some new hardware and treasured memories after claiming silver at Canada’s under 18 curling championship in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
“I came off the ice crying once because I was just so excited,” lead Samantha McLaren said. “It was unreal what was happening to us.”
The Moose Jaw-based team posted a 4-2 record in round robin play, and won three playoff matches to earn a berth in the gold medal game.
While they eventually fell 6-3 to Nova Scotia in the final, the young women are celebrating an underdog season that was nearly derailed by an early-season injury to second Chantel Hoag.
“It was heartbreaking. I was totally lost. Letting my team down really hurt me,” Hoag said. “When my injury happened it was all so fast, all so quick that everything wasn’t there anymore. My walking ability wasn’t there. I was in a cast and I had crutches for over six weeks.”
The team relied on two spares while Hoag recovered from a torn ligament in her ankle, but once she returned, they blazed through the provincial tournament to punch their ticket to the second-ever U-18 Championships.
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“It was crazy. It was so loud. People were yelling your name and it was hard to focus at first,” skip Skylar Ackerman said of her first time competing in an arena setting. “Once we got the hang of it we just buckled down and made our shots.”
“Just step on the ice and clear everything from your mind, and you’re out there doing what you love to do with the people you love the most,” Third, Madison Johnson added.
Coach Patrick Ackerman said the young squad was even winning over their opponents by the end of the tournament.
“Throughout the week we had three or four girls teams looking for green flags and green jerseys to wear to cheer the girls on.”
Ackerman and Hoag also took home sportsmanship awards.
The trip may hardly be over, but the team is already planning its return to the ice- the next step in a journey they hope will lead to Olympic glory.
“There will be more pressure on us,” Hoag said. “We know how to deal with that. We know what our abilities are, we know what we can do, and hopefully we can make it to a national title.”
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