Hockey action for the Lacoka Midget girls’ team has seen some serious competition but the girls are ready for just about anything.
The team set out three specific goals this year, explained coach Pete Hall: to be first place in the regular season, to win playoffs and to go to provincials. “They wanted to win everything. That was their goal, not mine,” said Hall.
They are on their way for the first two and are in the midst of a two-game battle against the Leduc midget girls to get to provincials. In the regular season standings, Midget Lacoka sit first in the Rocky Mountain House Female Hockey League north division with a record of 12-2-2. Their next closest rivals are Stettler and Camrose who both have a shot at beating the Lacoka team.
“Camrose is the only team that’s beat us all year,” said Hall.
And a recent game against Stettler resulted in a 5-5 tie. Hall said Stettler’s entire hockey program is a strong one and he and the team knew that going into the 2015-16 season.
Most recently, however, the Lacoka girls are showing their resolve to keep their lead in the league. Their Friday, Jan. 22 game against West Central Midget proved a resounding success with a 10-0 win. Scorers were Danica Polson (4), Paige Polson (2), Alyssa Klinger, Lindsay Jansen, Callie Braun and Abby Sim.
Game stats for their Sunday gameagainst Endmoor Midget were not available, which resulted in a 3-2 win for Lacoka. Hall said it was a fun game to watch as the girls were down 2-1 coming into the third period. They tied the game 2-2 with five minutes left and just as the last nine seconds ticked down, Danica Polson managed to sneak the winning goal after a face off extraction.
Hall said their first provincial playdowns game against Leduc was against a goalie who seemed able to stop almost every shot they took. The Lacoka team outshot Leduc by a large margin, but couldn’t sink the pucks. “They just ran into a hot goalie that night.”
The season hasn’t been all fun. Player Amanda Burt was hurt in a car accident early on in the season, which left her with serious injuries. But Burt is a determined person, said Hall, and her recovery has been a great source of inspiration for the team.
Next up for the Lacoka girls is a tournament in Airdrie where the girls will face off against strong teams. “The teams they will be playing there … all are going to be at the A level for provincials,” said Hall.
He is excited to see how they will do at the tournament.
Lacoka’s second playdowns game against Leduc is Tuesday, Feb. 2 in Ponoka at 7:30 p.m. and the team must win by two goal difference if they are to make it to the next round.