Last year, there were no expectations that the Fraser Valley Rush would qualify for the Esso Cup. This year is different.

With 16 players returning from last year’s silver medal-winning team, the Rush were no longer surprising its opponents with a dynamic offence and attention to detail on the ice.

“The girls set the expectation that we were going to get back [to the Esso Cup], and that’s a different dynamic,” says head coach Tony Lindsay.

The strong team culture built last year, guided by phrases like “40 for 40,” continues to be a driving factor towards the Rush’s success. The team’s phrase for this playoff drive is “servant warrior,” meaning they always compete as a warrior no matter what and each teammate serves the team and each other. However, one of the most important phrases for the Rush is that it needs to be a party on the bench.

“We have to be having fun. The reality is we play better if we’re having fun,” Lindsay says. “We have to be on the bench celebrating the successes of our teammates.”

Five Rush players represented British Columbia (and won gold) at the Canada Winter Games in February, meaning that the Fraser Valley Classic Tournament in late February was the last time the full team played together before the playoffs began. Lindsay says the Rush used that tournament to refocus as a group ahead of the postseason.

“We won the tournament, but it was more how we won the tournament,” he explains. “It just reinforced to the girls the things that we needed to do to be successful.”

Although there may be big expectations on the group heading into the tournament, Lindsay says the mindset will always be, “the most important shift is the next shift.”

“The phrase I’ve used with the girls is you mentally need to be where your feet are,” he says. “Wherever your feet are, that drives what you should be thinking about. Be present, be where your feet are. Don’t be in the future, don’t be in the past, just be where your feet are and focus on the next shift.”

HOW THEY GOT TO PRINCE ALBERT

B.C. Elite Hockey League
Semifinal: defeated Greater Vancouver Comets 2-0 (7-0, 4-0)
Final: defeated Thompson-Okanagan Lakers 2-0 (5-1, 5-0)

Pacific Regional
Championship: defeated Red Deer Chiefs 2-0 (3-0, 5-2)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-T): 30-2-0 (1st in BCEHL)
Goals for: 171 (1st in BCEHL)
Goals against: 48 (1st in BCEHL)
Longest winning streak: 30 (Sept. 30 – Feb. 26)
Top 3 scorers:
- Leah Barnard – 26G 34A 60P (1st in BCEHL)
- Aynsley D’Ottavio – 15G 39A 54P (2nd in BCEHL)
- Vienna Rubin – 19G 23A 42P (3rd in BCEHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 6-0
Goals for: 25
Goals against: 3
Top 3 scorers:
- Aynsley D’Ottavio – 5G 6A 11P
- Leah Barnard – 2G 9A 11P
- Vienna Rubin – 5G 5A 10P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2022 – Fraser Valley Rush | silver medal | 3-2 | 18GF 16GA
2014 – Fraser Valley Phantom | fifth place | 1-4 | 12GF 15GA
2013 – Fraser Valley Phantom | fifth place | 1-4 | 7GF 16GA

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LEAH BARNARD
extremely versatile player … unbelievable in faceoffs … leads by example … BCEHL Player of the Year

AYNSLEY D’OTTAVIO
creative playmaker ... exceptional deception … unique vision on the ice ... no occasion is too big for her

VIENNA RUBIN
big game player … outstanding speed … relentless on the attack … one of the top scorers in BCEHL

UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Leah Barnard – Western University
Solana Cooper – University of Calgary
Aynsley D’Ottavio – Quinnipiac University
Gillian Lapierre – St. Mary’s University
Jade Lore – University of Connecticut
Rebecca Noble – University of Windsor
Vienna Rubin – McGill University