Late-season surge does the trick

Leader staff

Slave Lake’s female Thunder hockey team ended their season on a high note, beating High Prairie on March 17. The win earned them third place in the All Peace League.

The win was a big one, and not just because winning is always better than losing. The Thunder had finished the regular season well down in the standings in the six-team league, and 16 points behind High Prairie.

However, the girls were playing better towards the end of the season, and getting some good results.
“I guess the saying goes it’s not how you start the season it’s how you finish,” says head coach Ryan Dierker. “We didn’t win a game until the new year, but ended up winning our last three playoff games when it counted most.”

The March 17 game ended 5 – 2 for the Thunder. Emma Okemow led the way with two goals. Also scoring for Slave Lake were Addyson White, Maddison Green and Hayden Dierker.

Coach Dierker says the girls played strong defensively and out-shot High Prairie by a wide margin, but were tied after two periods. That’s when things “got weird,” he says.

“Our goalie (Rachelle Srouji) “got hit by a puck and couldn’t play the third, so we had to put in Berlyn Broadhead. The girls saved their best period for last, scoring three times and only giving up 3-4 shots.”