CANORA – You just never know when things might start to click.
After finishing eleventh in the 11-team Sask Female Hockey League south division during the regular season, the Canora-based Parkland Prairie Ice have been on a roll since the start of playoffs. It’s been “a wild few weeks,” according to Head Coach Nicole Korpusik.
“The girls have committed to each other and have been really putting in the extra effort and focus to elevate their level of play,” said Korpusik. “They are trusting in each other and in themselves, which is really paying off.”
Every team in the league makes the playoffs, with the bottom five teams in each division competing on the consolation side. Each series is a best-of-three contest.
Round 1
The Ice opened their playoff run by welcoming the Carlyle Wildcats for Game 1 on Feb. 28. A late goal by Elli Vogel of Theodore, assisted by Isobelle Smith of Yorkton, tied the game at 1-1. But the Ice went home trialing 1-0 in the series after the Wildcats won the game with a goal in double overtime.
The series switched venues to Carlyle and the Ice turned into road warriors, winning the final two games of the series by scores of 2-1 and 2-0. Goal scorers were Elli Vogel, and Karissa Keewatin of Cote First Nation, with a pair each. In addition to racking up a shutout in the all-important Game 3 win, goalie Ty Northrup of Norquay also earned an assist.
Coach Korpusik credits a busy February for a good portion of the team’s playoff success.
“That included a bus trip and more opportunities for us to bond as a team,” she said. “The girls have become much closer, built a stronger foundation of trust and developed a strong level of resilience, which is showing on the ice. That win we had against Balcarres (to end the regular season) really opened the girls' eyes to the fact they have nothing to fear, and that they can play right alongside these other teams. That mentality and a desire to show up for each other has helped this team level up and is what allowed them to win two in a row after a first game loss to Carlyle. Plus, our goalie, Ty Northrop is an absolute force between the pipes!”
Round 2
Round 2 against Weyburn began with the continuation of a somewhat disturbing trend for the Ice, falling behind early in Game 1 on March 9. The home team led 3-0 after the opening period, scoring the third goal with only three seconds left. But the Ice bounced back with four straight goals, including taking the lead with only 11 seconds left in the middle period, and won the game 4-3.
“It's become apparent that our first periods are not our best,” admitted Korpusik, “But our second periods, that's when the girls come out and dominate. I'd like to think it's the inspiration and direction we coaches give between periods, but we all know these girls have figured out what it takes to get themselves back in a game and play to the last second!”
The series moved to Canora and the Ice had the opportunity to punch their tickets for the next round with a win in Game 2. But the Gold Wings won 2-1 in a low-scoring defensive battle to force Game 3 back in Weyburn.
Elli Vogel was the only goal scorer for the Ice, with an unassisted tally.
“Our girls tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform in front of their home crowd and that has not worked in our favor,” said Korpusik. “We started to see glimmers of who we are but not enough to finish on top. That loss didn't phase the girls though, they had such a great attitude after that game, and instead of hanging their heads they used it as a lesson and shifted to focusing on winning the next one!”
Game 3 was back in Weyburn on March 14 for all the marbles, to see who would move on to the south division consolation final. In a welcome change from recent games, the Ice scored first before the first period was 10 minutes old. But the Gold Wings tied the score at 1-1 heading into the second period, which once again turned out to be the difference in the game.
“Our second period fire came through again!” said Korpusik. “This time we saw our opportunities and took advantage! Plus Ty stood on her head in net, she made so many incredible saves that helped us maintain the lead and secure the 4-2 win.”
With the two goal lead, the Ice did what was necessary in what turned out to be a scoreless third period.
“We had the advantage, so we needed to play smart, we needed to be intentional, and we needed to stay focused. The girls successfully killed a 3-on-5 shorthanded situation and continued to pressure Weyburn's key players which stifled their offence enough to limit their opportunities. On the chances they did get, Ty did what she did best for us, stopped pucks!”
Goal scorers for the Ice were Rylee Coleman, Morgan Olson and Allie Babiuk, all of Sturgis, along with Mackena Kriger of Springside. Assists came from Olson, Makayla Johnson of Sturgis, Ellie Vogel of Theodore, Karissa Keewatin of Cote FN, and Alyssa Werner of Theodore.
Having earned their spot in the south division consolation final, the Ice were scheduled to open the series at home against the Swift Current Colts on March 17.
“This next series we need to play a full 60 minutes and keep doing what we have been doing, playing with intention, determination and trust!” summed up Coach Korpusik.
The series was scheduled to wrap up in Swift Current with Game 2 on March 21 and Game 3, if necessary, on March 22.
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