Nothing like a good wakeup call to roust you from your slumber.
After sleep-skating through a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Flyers on the evening of Feb. 28, the Highwood Raiders got up March 1 and took care of business, ousting the Flyers from the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League (AMMFHL) playoffs with a 2-1 victory in a morning matchup.
The Okotoks-based Raiders, featuring seven Cochrane-area skaters, won the best-of-5 second-round series 3-1 and now face the Red Deer Chiefs in the league’s South Division final.
After taking a 2-0 series lead, Highwood had five days off before Calgary ambushed them Feb. 28 in Highwood’s Scott Seaman home rink. With less than 24 hours rest, the Raiders invaded Calgary and finished the deal at Max Bell Arena.
“We need to play,” observed Raiders head coach Jason Seper of Cochrane. “We’re the type of team where our offence is predicated on our speed and getting our legs going and getting our timing going. Yesterday (Feb. 28) we were just off. We can’t afford to have off games against other teams in this league because it gets harder and harder.”
Jane Jacobs and Gabrielle Seper scored for Highwood in the March 1 deciding game after Calgary had taken a 1-0 lead.
“We let up last night (Feb. 28) but we had a good comeback today,” 15-year-old forward Nicolette Seper said outside the dressing room.
“You just treat it like a do-or-die game. You just try your hardest and with the thought that if we win today we get the day off tomorrow. So, that’s something to work for,” she added with a laugh.
The Raiders meet the Red Deer Chiefs in the South Division final. Game 1 goes March 8 at Scott Seaman Arena in east Dewinton, 2 p.m. puck drop.
