Regina Rebels look to book ticket to Esso Cup this weekend

The Regina Rebels of the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League won their second provincial title last week defeating the Saskatoon Stars in their three-game series. The team will not move on to western regionals for a chance to play in the national championship.

“It felt kind of surreal like for myself I’ve never won a league championship before in my life so I was kind of just in shock,” Rebels forward Greta Henderson said.

“I was on the ice when the buzzer went and I picked my head up away from the puck and I didn’t care which girl it was but I hugged my first teammate,” Rebels forward Ashley Grice said.

The Rebels defeated the Stars 6-0 in the final game of the season. However, the team fell 5-3 in game one, before they battled back to win two straight.

“I don’t think it was a sense of overconfidence or anything. I just don’t think we’ve ever wanted anything that bad in our lives,” Grice said.

“It kind of demonstrated what we’re capable of. I think that’s the one thing they did, is when they actually put their minds to it. That’s the type of game they can play and they wanted it. They just wanted it more and I was proud of them,” Rebels head coach Mike Merk said.

The team knows the feeling of defeat all too well after losing in the league final last year in overtime to Notre Dame. This year they used that as their source of motivation all season.

“I’m not going to lie when through playoffs it felt like Notre Dame was going to do it again this year. We managed to get it done though. But I can’t say it enough, this team works so hard all year,” Merk said.

The team will now move on to face the Winnipeg Ice this weekend in a three-game series for the right to represent Saskatchewan and Manitoba at the Esso Cup later this month.

“To be honest, it doesn’t really feel like we’ve won anything. All I know is that my season is not over yet. The hard work’s not done. We just have to keep going and keep pushing through,” Grice said.

“It would mean the world in my last season for myself. It’s definitely a dream coming into my midget hockey career,” Henderson said.

The Rebels have competed in the national tournament twice, in 2010 when they when they hosted and again in 2013. The team has never won. This year Prince Albert will host the 2023 tournament. The team is hoping to have the opportunity to represent in their home province.

“It would be awesome. I mean, I’m sure that Winnipeg is going to be a really tough battle, but I just hope that we can pull through because I feel like we deserve it as a team. We’ve put in so much effort and I feel like we really deserve it,” said Grice.

“I think as a coach it would be a cool experience, but you know what, for me, it’s more of the experience for the girls. The message I gave the girls is it’s time for them to write their own stories. It’s time for them to use their own pen and ink,” Merk said.

The last time a Saskatchewan team won the national championship was in 2014 when the Weyburn Gold Wings took home the banner.