NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Olivia Ulbricht of the Medicine Hat U14 Mustangs celebrates her second half goal in a 4-3 win Friday afternoon over the Calgary Thrashers at the Hockey Hounds arena.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Alberta’s top ringette talent showed up Friday in Medicine Hat.
The Medicine Hat Ringette Association’s four-division provincials got underway Friday with U14, U16, Open B and Open C action on display at four rinks around Medicine Hat and area.
Both Mustang teams picked up wins on the first day of action.
The U14 Mustangs lost their first game of the day, falling 6-5 to Lethbridge. Breanna Lanuk had a pair of goals with an assist, Brea Butterfield had a goal and two assists and both Kassidy Etienne and Ally Martin scored. Jacqueline LeBlanc made 20 saves.
They bounced back with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Thrashers later in the day. Mustangs head coach Loralee Eastland says they knew they needed the win to stay alive past the round robin, and she liked how the young team responded.
“The girls played very, very well this morning, missed a couple of open nets, played a really tough team that finished top of the league, so this was huge for them to bounce back and our goalie was incredible today,” Eastland said.
Lanuk had two goals with an assist again, Lacey Gibeny and Olivia Ulbricht scored for Medicine Hat, LeBlanc picked up the win.
Eastland says the ability to bounce back is something she’s seen from the U14 Mustangs all season and one she adds they’ll need to continue finding success in the provincial tournament.
The U14s face Sherwood Park Saturday at 7:15 a.m. at the Kinplex to finish the round robin. They’ll have crossover games throughout the day before playoffs begin on Sunday with the U14 finals series for Sunday at 11:45 a.m. at the Kinplex.
Medicine Hat’s U16 Mustangs won both of their first-day round-robin games.
They beat Sherwood Park 7-3 in the morning before topping Calgary NW 6-5 later in the day.
Margot Kerr scored twice with two assists in the opening win. All three of Jayna Allchurch, Leighton Wright and Avians Velichko tallied a goal and two assists, both Madison Helgeson and Ravyn Lehr each scored. Emma Pinnell picked up the win.
In their second win, the Mustangs led 4-3 after the first half and held on for the victory. Allchurch scored twice with an assist, Sutton Provost had a goal and an assist and all three of Margot Kerr, Helgeson and Lehr each scored. Velichko had three assists, Pinnell recorded her second win.
The U16 Mustangs face Calgary South on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. to finish the round robin. There is crossover play on Saturday before the playoffs begin Sunday, with the provincial final at 1:15 p.m. at the Kinplex.
Medicine Hat’s Open B Smash beat CORA-Absolut 5-3 in their lone game Friday. Mahala S had two goals with an assist, both Nicona L and Kailyn B had a goal and two assists. Kayty L had a goal and an assist.
The Open B Smash face the NAW-RQB-Twisters Saturday at 11:15 a.m. at the Big Marble Go Centre before taking on the NAW-Thunder at 7:30 p.m. to finish the round robin. The Open B finals are Sunday at 2 p.m. at Big Marble.
The Open C Force lost their only game Friday, falling 6-1 to Cora-Legacy. Kaleigh M scored for the Force. They face the NAW-Brewskis at 12:45 p.m. at the Hockey Hounds arena before taking on the LED-Jaguars at 6:30 p.m., at the Kinplex. The Open C finals go Sunday at 12:15 p.m. at Big Marble.
