A Chestermere girl has helped her team grab a golden ring, and now they are focused on being the top squad in their age category in western Canada.
The Zone 2 Blaze, which is made up of girls from the Cochrane, Airdrie, and Strathmore areas, won the Esso Golden Ring tournament on Jan. 21 in Calgary.
The Blaze went undefeated through the U14 double-A division, capping it off with a 2-1 overtime victory over the St. Albert Mission. Chestermere’s Ceira Lynch scored the opening goal to help her team capture the prestigious ringette tournament, the biggest one of its kind in the world.
“She’s been a welcome addition to the team,” said Blaze head coach Steve Rosenberg. “She’s a very good skater. She’s tenacious on the ring and has a really good shot. It’s good to see a first-year player step up and score a big goal in the final like that. Not many people can do that.”
Lynch is the only girl to make the double-A team from the Indus ringette program, as the Zone 2 squad draws from a wide area to compete at the top level in Alberta.
“The Indus program is growing a lot and you will see more kids on the zone 2 double-A team in the future,” Rosenberg said.
Buoyed by their win in the Golden Ring, the Blaze are now focused on the upcoming provincial playdowns with the hopes of qualifying for the Western Canadian Championships, which will be in Saskatoon from March 21-25.
“It’s a long road to get there but the girls are excited to give it a go,” said Rosenberg, who feels his team is really coming together after the Golden Ring.
“To see us not only compete but beating some of the best teams from B.C. … it’s nice to see that our kids are talented and can compete at the highest level.
“The girls didn’t know each other at the beginning of the year. Some groups might know each other, but the team has come together quite well over the year. We’ve spent a lot of time together.
“After the Christmas break, we went into the golden ring feeling pretty good and feeling like we could do really well.
Rachel Bushfield scored the winning goal in the Golden Ring, and there was just 25 seconds left on the clock in the overtime period. It created a mad rush as the team jumped on her in celebration after a marathon weekend when the Blaze played two games each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
When it went to overtime, Rosenberg saw the determination from his players to finish on top.
“It was game six and you tell by the look on the girls faces they were exhausted,” he said. “Five minutes of overtime with four on four. St. Albert took it to us pretty good.
“We got an offensive zone face-off with 40 seconds left. We drew up a play and the girls went out and executed. Rachel put it off the top bar and in. It was top corner on a one-timer. It was exciting.
“It was amazing to win that in overtime.”
The games are just as tough on the parents. Ceira’s mother Tarah Lynch nearly lost her voice with the final going to overtime.
“I have parent game Tourette’s,” she said with a laugh. “It’s awful. I yell uncontrollably. It’s so stressful. They are really exciting games. It’s really close and a good competition.
“This is one of those tournaments there is a trophy for. That makes it big. Usually you just get a medal or something.”
