NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
The Medicine Hat Riptide hoist their championship trophy after winning the under-16 provincial ringette championship with a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Forte on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at the Kinplex.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Riptide earned the title of Team Alberta on Sunday afternoon at the Kinplex.
After rallying to earn a place in the provincial championship game, the hosts upset the top-ranked Calgary Forte in a 5-3 victory to punch their ticket to Westerns.
“It feels really good. We have worked all season to get this and we executed so we’re all really proud,” said Riptide captain Marley Rose, adding it was even sweeter to accomplish the feat in front of a home crowd. “They were great along the way. They had great sportsmanship and it was really good to have that home crowd behind us.”
The Riptide were backed to the victory by a stalwart performance from netminder Jena Harty – who only picked up the position in a part-time fashion last year before stepping into a No. 1 role with the Riptide this season.
“Last year there were only three goalies on our team so I only got a little bit of time,” said Harty. “This year it was a big risk to try out for the team but I ended up making it. At the beginning of the year, the first game we played we lost 14-2. Now we’re winning 5-3 for the final in provincials.”
Riptide head coach John Karamanos said his team knew they’d be in for a battle when they were matched up against Calgary for gold, making the victory another testament to how much ground the team has gained.
“They may have only lost two or three games all season, so that was the team that we had to beat,” said Karamanos. “We set our goal to be this, and all the girls worked hard. We won lots this year, we lost too, but we stayed near the top all year and just kept working and trying hard. We focused hard this last month here and we showed we had it.”
The Riptide took over an early lead when Joren Gramlich struck for the opener with 12 minutes left in the first. Jaida Wallis and Rose tacked onto the lead to give Medicine Hat a 3-0 edge at the break, then Kylie Kallenberger added another partway through the second.
Calgary responded with one from captain Sarah Graham, though it was quickly answered by Medicine Hat’s Andie Suhai – who picked up her third point of the game with the goal.
The Forte made a late push and narrowed the gap to a pair with goals from Graham and from Ayla Ventura, but Harty shut the door in the final two minutes.
The Riptide will head to Prince George to represent Alberta at the Western Canadian Ringette Championships from March 25-28.
Ducks settle for silver
Over at the Kin2, the Medicine Hat Mighty Ducks fell just short of provincial gold with a 6-3 loss to the Bow View Blue in Sunday’s under-19 final.
Lauren Klick scored twice, Hannah Heidel added another and Amanda Robinson finished with a pair of assists. While it wasn’t enough to secure gold, Ducks captain Maggie Carrier says they left everything they had on the ice in an effort that should make every player proud.
“We started at the bottom and we just came together as a team,” said Carrier. “I don’t even think we’re upset with the loss. I love all these girls and we played one hell of a game. We didn’t give up, so I’m not upset.”
Holly Gummerson led Bow View to the title with three goals and two assists, while Ella Selby, Anne Yeomans and Sharissa Noor-Ali rounded out the scoring.
