The Lloydminster U15 Blazers 2 celebrate a golden weekend after beating the St. Albert Sting on Sunday afternoon in the 4th Meridian Female Classic. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Hard work and determination throughout the season is paying off for the Lloydminster U15 Blazers 2, who after a busy five-game tournament, finished the 4th Meridian Female Classic as gold medalists.
The 4th Meridian Female Classic took over the Servus Sports Centre last weekend and brought in U11, U13 and U15 teams from throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Playing out of the ECAFHL (East Central Alberta Female Hockey League), the U15 Blazers 2 wrapped the regular season with a 9-3-4 record, placing them fourth in the league.
Blazers 2 forward Jayce Miazga, who put up 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 16 games, said a lot of this past weekend’s success can be attributed to the work the team’s put in throughout the year.
“It was really good,” she said. “We tried hard, and obviously it payed off, but it showed we’ve improved a lot throughout the year with the little things we’ve been working on.”
Miazga noted things being worked on includes lots of forechecking, keeping the shifts short, and just being smart with the puck and moving it around.
Goaltender Alex Firus, who played 15 games this season and finished with a .88 save percentage, said the team effort over the weekend was strong, as was the competition.
“The competition was good this weekend and most of the teams here were pretty good,” she said. “The whole team played really well this weekend and worked really hard.”
Lloydminster U15 Blazers 2 goaltender Alex Firus keeps her eye on the puck during Sunday morning action against the Calgary Inferno at the Servus Sports Centre.
Head coach Carston Moore explained the girls had a strong weekend and should be very proud of themselves.
“The highlight of the weekend was really what happened throughout the course of the year,” he said.
“We wanted to improve from start to finish, and I think we’re really seeing that as coaches. That makes us proud and hopefully they’re learning a little bit from us.”
Moore also explained how tournaments such as this are doing a lot of good for female hockey in the Border City.
“This tournament is really good for female hockey. It’s come a long way in the last few years and the numbers have been good; it just keep growing,” he said.
“The hockey is also good. It’s entertaining, fun to watch.”