Cochrane hockey star Sarah Wozniewicz and her Team Alberta teammates won the gold medal at the Canada Winter Games in front of a capacity crowd in Red Deer with a 2-1 victory over Team Quebec on March 2.
The Cinderella tournament got off to a rocky start for the Alberta girls, losing 6-1 to Team B.C. and 2-1 to Team Ontario, which sandwiched a 4-3 shootout victory over Team Nova Scotia to squeak them into the final spot of the playoff portion of the tournament. Alberta then went on to defeat Manitoba 3-0 in the quarterfinals before upsetting B.C. 2-1 in the semi-finals when Wozniewicz scored the overtime winner sending her team to the final. Alberta got goals from Kassy Betinol and Jaden Bogden while also getting a 31 save performance from goaltender Bella McKee.
Wozniewicz scored four goals and added an assist in six games as one of the youngest players in the tournament at the ripe age of 15. She said winning gold was even sweeter due to the fact she won it on home soil in front of family and friends.
"Yeah, it's really cool winning in front of our friends and family ... it was a full house. There were just so many people there and it was an awesome feeling," Wozniewicz said. "It was just so awesome when we won. All your teammates are pushing you and your coaches are looking to make you better during a tournament like this ... my parents have been great, supporting me all the way through and have been really awesome throughout my hockey career."
Wozniewicz said a few things changed over the course of the tournament, as her team was able to transform their 1-2 round robin record into a gold medal winning performance over Quebec.
"Basically we learned from those earlier games in the round robin and knew we had to simplify our game, get pucks deep and do all the little things to make us successful," Wozniewicz said.
"Honestly, I was just super happy and excited to win ... that's what I've been thinking about for the last half of the year. The process just to make Team Alberta started in May and to see all our hard work come to fruition was really cool."
The 15-year-old was the youngest player at the tournament but still managed to shine against older girls in a U-18 tournament.
"I felt like I was the same as everyone else. I didn't really notice the age difference," Wozniewicz said of her performance. "I play with these girls all year round so I'm use to it and it's normal for me to play against older girls."
Women's hockey has really grown over the past year starting with the Canada-USA Olympic final in Pyeonchang last February. Since then, more Canadians have tuned into other international female events while also paying closer attention to the local teams such as the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). With TSN broadcasting the final few games of the tournament, Wozniewicz said it's awesome to show the country that the future of women's hockey is in good hands.
"I think it's very important. It shows everyone just how good we are and more important gets the younger generation of girls excited to play hockey," Wozniewicz said. "Having those young girls excited is important because it'll make women's hockey just that much better moving forward ... obviously people realize that girls hockey is growing and getting better which is great."
Wozniewicz said she's had a lot of friends and family reach out to her over the last few days in order to send their congratulations, but a few messages really stood out to the young star.
"One of our coaches at the school is an Olympian and plays on Team Canada in Blayre Turnbull, she texted me and said good job which is really cool," said the Edge forward. Then a girl who won gold for Team Alberta at the 1995 Canada Winter Games also reached out to us which was also really nice."
Wozniewicz has a short turnaround as she'll get back with her Edge school teammates in order to prepare for playoffs, which start this upcoming weekend.
