SUBMITTED PHOTO
The Medicine Hat U19 Mustangs won gold at the Ed Horvath invitational, beating the Buffalo Plains Blitz 6-5 on Dec. 8, 2024 at the Moose Rec Centre.
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The Medicine Hat U19 Mustangs look to continue the home ice defence at the Ed Horvath Invitational.
Medicine Hat’s U19 ringette team enters this weekend with three straight championship wins at the annual interprovincial tournament. Picking up a fourth in a row was one of the goals set aside by the U19 team early in their year, according to head coach Rebecca Jackiw.
“The girls really love that Ed Horvath banner hanging in the Moose, but this year will be very, very difficult to get there and difficult to contend,” Jackiw said. “We are three years straight of winning the banner, so we are hungry for it, and the girls have been working really, really hard in practice, we’ve done a few dry-land sessions. So just hoping that it all can come together this weekend.”
The interprovincial tournament gets underway Friday with round-robin play extending into Saturday before playoffs and the finals to crown a winner on Sunday. Games will be played at the Kinplex, Moose Rec Centre and Big Marble Go Centre.
The U19 Mustangs will be vying against seven other U19 teams as the Ed Horvath received more interest in the age group than they have in recent tournaments, creating the need for two pools. They took silver at a tournament two weeks ago, also meeting a pre-season goal of medalling in every tournament.
Jackiw likes her team, nine of the 16 girls are first-year U19 players who have stepped up into the big moments early.
“We have nine first-year girls and they have really, really rose and shined early in the season,’ Jackiw said. “Two of our girls, Avi (Velichko) and Leighton (Wright) are in our top scoring all the time. There’s just such good, defensive girls, really eager to learn systems. I’m just really, really proud they have come into U19 and are really meeting and exceeding expectations of what I thought a primarily first-year team would do.”
Jackiw was on the coaching staff of the U19 team that won last year in her daughter Ryleigh’s first year of U19. She says they lean heavily on the graduating third-years who look to win it all for a third time.
“Our leadership team is very, very strong, they have played ringette for years in our Medicine Hat system, they just know the game well,” Jackiw said. “They know our systems well and they have led with very good leadership skills and they’ve been very good with our first years, answering questions, working with them.”
The U19 Mustangs and the Medicine Hat Open B Smash were the two lone local teams to win gold last year.
This year’s tournament has been organized by Sarah McDonald and her committee. They’re returning the Saamis Tepee coloured in ringette colours to promote the women’s game, as well as having a friendship bracelet making spot to enhance the weekend for the younger players. They will also have a blue ringette-themed Jellycat.
It’s her first year setting up the tournament and Jackiw says she’s continued on and improved upon the legacy of the Ed Horvath Invitational.
“The committee is doing wonderful things behind the scenes, carrying on some of those traditions that we’ve done, but then also making new ones for our girls,” Jackiw said.
“They’re just doing some really great things, not to try and reinvent the wheel, but just trying to keep our tournament spicy and new and fresh.”
