Despite being down 1-0 to the Calgary Flyers after the first period, you knew head coach Jason Seper went into the room and told his Highwood Raiders to not change a thing they were doing on the ice.
“That’s absolutely what we did. We had a game plan. Let’s stick to the game plan,” Cochrane’s Seper said. “When you out-shoot a team 14-2 after the first, you don’t change much. You just try to impress upon the girls that they’re doing everything right and that you have to be patient with a team like the Flyers.”
The Raiders hit the ice in the second period, dominating as they had in the first while netting the rewards required to claim a 6-2 Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League (AMMFHL) playoff win Feb. 23 over the host Flyers at Max Bell Arena. The Raiders lead the best-of-5, second-round series 2-0 after edging the Flyers 5-4 in overtime Feb. 22 at Scott Seaman Arena in east Dewinton. The Okotoks-based Raiders feature seven Cochrane-area players, four who scored in the Feb. 23 game.
“We just build ourselves up on the bench and away we go,” said Bearspaw sniper Emily Potts, who bagged two Highwood goals and added an assist Feb. 23. “When we have our passing, it works really well because we can use the point, the wingers or the centre. Anyone, we can get the puck to for a scoring chance.”
Cochranites Hannah Olenyk, Gabrielle Seper and Nicolette Seper also scored, with Nicolette’s second-period backhander over Flyers goalie Alicia Anderson holding up as the game winner.
The Raiders can eliminate the Flyers with a win Friday. Game 3 of the AMMFHL second-round series goes Feb. 28 at Scott Seaman Arena in east Dewinton, 6:30 puck drop.
