After months of uncertainty, the Saskatoon Stars are ready to drop the puck.
While each new season brings fresh hopes and excitement, the under-18 AAA hockey team is more fired up than ever to play its first meaningful game since March.
“Every team is probably in the same situation but (it’s the) longest time we’ve ever been off without playing games just in general, so yeah, girls are really excited,” head coach Robin Ulrich said.
Last season was something of a rebuilding year for the Stars, who had won four Saskatchewan Female U-18 titles in the previous five seasons. The graduation of several key players left them younger and less experienced and they got off to a rocky start, losing seven of their first eight games.
But after the calendar flipped to 2020, the team posted a 7-2-3 record. That had the Stars feeling good about their playoff prospects, but they didn’t get a chance to fulfill those hopes as the season came to an abrupt end at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now the Stars are eager to pick up where they left off with the benefit of a lengthy off-season to prepare.
“It was amazing to see their growth over the summer and I think it brought a whole (new) sense of energy for them as well. Not only just being able to get back on the ice but also being able to see the improvements they’ve made,” Ulrich said.
For that off-season work to translate into on-ice success, they’ll need an offensive boost.
The Stars averaged just over two goals per game last season with two players — Makena Kushniruk and Sydney Mercier — accounting for nearly one-third of the team’s total output.
Both are back with the team this season and Mercier in particular is poised to take another big step forward after leading the Stars in scoring as a rookie.
“Over the summer I’ve gotten a lot of ice time and done some work so I feel a lot more comfortable with speed and puck movement, so I think it’ll be a lot better this year,” she said.
Ulrich says the team is also focused on generating more offence from the blue line and working as an offensive unit of five skaters.
“(We’re) looking for a little more offensively from our group. We’ve put a big focus on that early on and so yeah, it’ll be exciting to see it in games,” she said.
At the other end of the ice, third-year goaltender Kaitlyn Cadrain will be the Stars’ last line of defence. After spending the last two seasons sharing the crease with Arden Kliewer, who has since aged out of the program, Cadrain expects to shoulder a bigger workload.
“I’m feeling way more confident now that I’m not so much underneath Arden. Now I’m on top. I feel like a role model and it just gives me much more confidence,” she said.
Add in a more experienced blue line led by third-year Star Bridget Rezansoff, some talented new additions including former Battlefords Sharks defender Kalli Hiebert and forward Keyra Buziak — who has “the sickest hands,” according to Ulrich — and the pieces are in place for an improvement on last season’s fifth-place finish.
“Our returning players took a huge step with the work they’ve put in and our newcomers have just stepped right in and been fantastic so I’m really excited about what we’re gonna do this year,” Ulrich said.
The Stars open the season Nov. 7 on the road against the Prince Albert Northern Bears. The arch-rivals will lock horns again the following day in Saskatoon.
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