2015 Esso Cup

3 Stars of the Day

3 STARS OF THE DAY – SATURDAY, APRIL 25

1. Karli Shell (Sudbury)
The Lady Wolves captain scored two goals in the opening period to give her team the lead after first 20 minutes of the championship game. She spent the next 40 not so much looking for the hat track but rather relentlessly forechecking to ensure a third goal wouldn’t be needed. Shell ended her Esso Cup with eight goals and five assists – plus a gold medal to go with the bronze she won last year. The tournament’s Top Forward now has 23 points in 14 career games at Canada’s National Female Midget Championship.

2. Nara Elia (Saskatoon)
With a medal up for grabs, the Stars forward stepped up what had already been a pretty impressive game at the Esso Cup. She found line mate Sophie Shirley off a set play from the face-off for her first assist, then showed persistence along the boards to find the other member of her trio, Julia Rongve, in the face-off circle. She wrapped up her day by converting a feed from Shirley down low. Elia finished the week with five goals, eight assists, zero penalty minutes and the tournament’s Most Sportsmanlike Player Award.

3. Karlee Fetch (Saskatoon)
Central Plains outshot Saskatoon two to one (28 shots to 14) but it didn’t make a difference with the way Fetch was protecting the Stars net. Trailing 4-1 to start the third, the Capitals came out firing, outshooting the Stars 8-0 through the first five minutes. Only five foot two, Fetch came up big, calmly turning all of them aside and stalling the Capitals’ momentum before it could completely get going. Fetch finished the Esso Cup with three wins and the event’s second-best goals against average (1.33).


3 STARS OF THE DAY – FRIDAY, APRIL 24

1. Sarah Murray (Red Deer)
How good was the goalie’s performance against Saskatoon? It earned her a curtain call. Among her 30 saves in regulation were a failed shorthanded breakaway, a failed even-strength breakaway and a failed shorthanded shot taken from point blank range. In the shootout she stopped another four shots. Her fourth win at the 2015 Esso Cup was her biggest yet: it sent the Chiefs to the gold medal game.

2. Emma Johnson (Saskatoon)
Only 15 years old, the Stars goalie plays with remarkable poise and polish. With Saskatoon being whistled for 10 minor penalties against Red Deer – which led to it twice playing five-on-three – she truly had to be her team’s best defender. As nice as her save against Kirsten Baumgardt was in the second – stoning her point blank on a rebound – it was a distant second to her did-you-see-that stop on Mairead Bast’s first attempt in the shootout.  While falling forward to her left, Johnson kicked out her right leg to greet the puck.

3. Carley Olivier (Sudbury)
The defenceman had kept a low profile on the blue line until Friday, letting her teammates share the goals as the Lady Wolves filled the net 22 times during the week. But she picked a great time to score her first of the 2015 Esso Cup. Stepping around her Central Plains’ defender in the face-off circle, she let go a wrist shot that flew over the goalie’s shoulder short side. It proved to be the game-winner that sent Sudbury to Saturday in search of gold.


3 STARS OF THE DAY – THURSDAY, APRIL 23

1. Tamara McVannel (Central Plains)
An assistant captain with the Capitals, McVannel plays in all situations and provides offence with her shot and passes, while also blocking shots and battling in her own end. Behind their quarterback, Central Plains has surrendered the fewest goals against of any team at the 2015 Esso Cup. In her team’s final preliminary game, against Red Deer, McVannel showed off her noted quick release early in the second period with a shot that the Chiefs’ goalie could slow but not stop.

2. Paige Michalenko (Saskatoon)
The Stars are loaded with skill, speed and players anxious to show both off. The captain of the youngest team at the 2015 Esso Cup provides consistency and poise every shift, allowing her teammates to take chances because they know their leader has their back. Case in point: Saskatoon broke out for seven goals against Moncton, all of which were scored from no farther away than the middle of the face-off circle. Just for good measure, Michalenko had an assist.

3. Cayle Dillon (Edmonton)
The 2015 Esso Cup is the offensive defenceman’s third appearance at Canada’s National Female Midget Championship. Now wearing an A, she’s been the leader of a young Edmonton defensive core. Commended for her propensity to play with an edge, Dillon was trusted to be on ice in all situations with her team’s season on the line against Sudbury,


3 STARS OF THE DAY – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22

1. Sophie Shirley (Saskatoon)
When Shirley’s on the ice, you notice. The smooth-skating 15-year-old added another two points in the Stars’ win over Red Deer. She showcased good hands on her goal, controlling a centering pass on a five-on-three and scoring mere seconds before the Chiefs thought they got off the first penalty hook. Her strong work down low helped send the puck back to the blue line, where teammate Kalista Senger rifled home the game-winning goal.

2. Sheridan Oswald (Central Plains)
Only five foot four Oswald played much bigger than that against Sudbury. She was relentless on the forecheck, seemingly never content until the puck was either on her stick or leaving it by her own free will. Her pressuring the physically bigger Lady Wolves helped contribute to her picking up two assists in the Capitals second straight win. Her own goal on a give-and-go showcased the skill that goes with her tenacity.

3. Alexandra Poznikoff (Edmonton)
In what amounted to a must-win game for her team, the Thunder captain led by example, displaying high energy from puck drop to the final horn. She picked up the second assist on Edmonton’s go-ahead goal and showed patience and poise – plus a little pizzazz – on the insurance marker, an end-to-end effort that she finished with a backhand high into the net.


3 STARS OF THE DAY – TUESDAY, APRIL 21

1. Melisa Kingsley (Sudbury)
In 6:06 Kingsley had written her name in the Esso Cup record book. With her second period natural hat trick, Kingsley showed a trio of traits: patience, in waiting out a soon-to-be down-and-out goalie; intuition, in knowing where the rebound would be on a point shot; and skill, in pouncing off the draw and converting on the rebound. Kingsley also added two assists in her team’s 7-2 win over Red Deer.

2. Sheridan Oswald (Central Plains)
Less than two minutes in the Capitals forward tipped in a goal to get her offensively starved team going. From there she continued buzzing all night, using her speed to find space and create scoring chances – for herself and others. She picked up the second assist on Emily Upgang’s first period goal, then finished a give-and-go with Mekaela Fisher for her own second goal. Her crisp centering pass on Upgang’s second of the night was the last of the Capitals’ four unanswered goals.

3. Emilie Arsenault (Moncton)
Easily the busiest player on the ice, Arsenault made 33 saves for the Rockets in their 6-1 setback to Central Plains. With her team on its heels for the last 40 minutes – Moncton was outshoot 29-13 – the goalie came up big several times, willing her team to make a comeback. Among her highlights: stopping a shorthanded partial breakaway midway through the second period and coming up big when her defenders were beat to open the third, keeping the deficit to only three at the time.


3 STARS OF THE DAY – MONDAY, APRIL 20

1. Abagael Thiessen (Red Deer)
One of Red Deer’s leaders, as well as the team’s second-leading scorer during the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League regular season, the defenceman once again stepped up on offence in a key moment. With her team being outshot and out-chanced through the first 22 minutes of its game against provincial rival Edmonton – but still leading 1-0 – Thiessen’s point shot on the power play seemed to have eyes, finding its way through traffic to send the Thunder’s momentum crashing.

2. Nara Elia (Saskatoon)
With her team down 2-0 early in the second, Elia fueled all three goals that led to the Stars win over the Capitals. She went top shelf with a one-timer from the face-off circle in the second, then using her defender as a screen roofed the tying goal early in the third. The Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League’s leading scorer then broke line mate Julia Rongve with a stretch pass for the game-winner.

3. Tayler Murphy (Sudbury)
In a game that saw 11 of her teammates also get on the score sheet Murphy managed to stand out, picking up a goal and two assists in the Lady Wolves’ win over Moncton. She assisted on the ice-breaker early in the first on the power play, then finished a feed from Sophie Lebrun after beating her defender to the slot for her team’s third goal. She helped return the favour in the third, being strong to the puck in the offensive zone and picking up the second assist when Lebrun slid home a rebound.


3 STARS OF THE DAY – SUNDAY, APRIL 19

1. Tracie Kikuchi (Edmonton)
The Thunder goalie, in her third straight Esso Cup appearance, single-handedly kept her team even with Central Plains through regulation and a five-minute overtime period, stopping all 40 shots she saw. Making her efforts all the more impressive? With her team being called for 10 penalties, Kikuchi was often left facing Capitals with extra room to shoot. In the shootout Kikuchi continued to rise to the occasion, stopping five of six shots as her team finally prevailed 1-0.

2. Ashley Richard (Red Deer)
Richard’s three-point night sent the crowd home happy. She proved the value of just putting the puck on net with her first goal, a fortunate bounce fooling the Moncton goalie. On her team’s fourth and final goal her forehand from the slot met twine. In between, her stretch pass from the defensive zone face-off circle to the side boards near the offensive zone red line helped Breanna Martin break past the defenders and finish with a backhand.

3. Sophie Shirley (Saskatoon)
The Stars forward scored both her team’s goals in a 3-2 setback to Sudbury. On her first she showed her willingness to battle by fighting hard down low to bury a rebound. On her second she simply showed off her skill. She drove through the offensive zone and with the toe drag beat her defender before roofing a backhand.

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