Cochrane players contributed to a major milestone for Zone 2 (Big Country) Ringette on April 9, helping the association's U16AA team claim the national championship.
Competing in Calgary in front of more than 4,000 fans watching either in-person or via Ringette Canada's online stream, the Zone 2 U16AA squad overcame a team from New Brunswick 7-6 in overtime to win the association's first ever national championship.
"It was just a great experience," said Wes Clark, the head coach of Zone 2's U16AA team. "It was well organized and all the volunteers put in tons of effort and made it a unique experience for the girls – one they'll remember for the rest of their lives."
Zone 2 is a unique ringette association in Alberta, with a wide-spanning catchment area that includes elite-level players from Cochrane, Airdrie, Chestermere, Strathmore, and their surrounding communities.
According to Clark, the gold-medal game was a fitting finale, as both Zone 2 and New Brunswick were unbeaten heading into it. While Zone 2 took a commanding lead in the first two periods, the New Brunswick team was able to claw their way back into the contest and force overtime.
"We had a 5-0 lead, but with them being a strong team, they battled back and picked away at it," Clark said. "The next thing you know, there's a couple of penalties [called on us] and a few opportunities for them. Before you know it, we're tied 6-6 and heading to overtime."
The overtime win meant Zone 2 went unbeaten at the week-long tournament in Calgary, beating eight of the top teams from across Canada en-route to national glory.
The team's road to the final was paved with wins against teams from Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Calgary. After coasting through the round-robin, Zone 2 earned a bye through to the quarterfinals, where they beat the top team from Ontario 7-6.
In the semi-final, Zone 2 overcame the Calgary Surge 4-1 – the same opponent they had beaten in the provincial championship final six weeks earlier – to book a spot in the final.
Clark credited the Zone 2 players' ability to stay mentally sharp throughout the tournament, and said winning the championship was a full-group effort. According to the head coach, every game saw different players step up to the plate and put in game-winning performances.
"It was a perfect team win – it wasn't one or two people we relied on," he said. "We got a performance from all 15 players and everyone had opportunities to play. Our back-up goalie had opportunities to play and everyone participated."
But even though the national title was a complete team effort, Clark acknowledged some Zone 2 players had particularly strong showings. He highlighted the selection of three Zone 2 players on the tournament's all-star team – Strathmore's Karley Clark, Airdrie's Madi Rice, and Langdon's Talisa Cowley.
"That's a phenomenal feat because only 12 girls in total – out of 18 teams, which is more than 270 girls – were selected to the all-star team," Clark said.
He added Cowley was also named the offensive player of the game in the gold-medal final, while Zone 2's Tessa Galandy was named the defensive player of the game.
According to Clark, the bulk of this year's U16AA roster will be moving up to Zone 2's U19AA team next year. He said 10 of the 15 players will graduate from U16, while five players will remain to see if they can replicate this year's success.
He said with nationals now in the rear-view mirror, Zone 2 Ringette's players and their families are taking a well-earned break from a hectic ringette schedule.
"It's nice to have a break, but it doesn't take long before parents who were so busy before start wondering what to do," he said.
"This has been an amazing group. I've coached them for a couple of years and they've never not medalled. Every tournament they've gone in, they've won a medal. They've only ever won one silver medal. They've won two bronzes, one silver, and everything else has been gold. And they've had the opportunity now to hoist the national cup in ringette."
