Aces aiming for playoffs; Cameron, Aldridge embrace chance

The goaltending tandem of Sloan Cameron and Callie Aldridge has provided stability for the young Stratford Aces squad. Both Cameron and Aldridge feel honoured to be part of the organization.

“Being part of the Stratford Aces is all about inclusion, making friends and playing competitive hockey at a high level with your best friends, and also being able to achieve things, all together as a group,” Cameron said.

“I played here for three years, and I've loved it. It's been my favourite – I played my favourite hockey here. It’s all about making friends and playing competitive hockey and just being on a good team full of great girls,” Aldridge said.

The Stratford Humphrey Fleet Service U18 Aces prepare for their resumption of OWHA regular season play this weekend, following their exit from the Mississauga Hurricanes ‘AA Winter Showcase last weekend.

Stratford is currently in eighth place in the West division of the OWHA-Southern league.

On opening day, Jan. 9, the Aces defeated the North Bay Junior Lakers 3-0 and the Barrie Sharks 4-1. Despite the unbeaten start, the Aces dropped a 6-0 decision to the Etobicoke Dolphins and settled for a 1-1 draw with the Owen Sound Ice Hawks. Stratford finished in third place in Group C with a record of 2-2-1 but didn’t qualify for the knockout rounds.

Head coach Sean Cameron says he hopes the team’s performance in the tournament will set the course for the second half of the season and into the playoffs.

“We had a good tournament. The good thing about it is that we met up with a whole bunch of teams that we haven't played before in the past, and it gave us a new experience. It's all about getting ready for what I call the second half of the season, which we're coming into. So, we're in the point now where we've got to get some points to make the playoffs. It's a big thing for us,” Cameron said.

“In tournaments like that, we can work on what our strengths are and what our weaknesses are. So that's what I really focused on. Then we take it here into practice, because we have a big game coming up against Kitchener on the weekend, so we're preparing for that. And they gave us a lot of lessons from the tournament, how to get ready.”

Netminders Cameron and Aldridge understand the situation the Aces face to be competitive in time for the playoffs.

“The season's been going well. It's a new group of girls, so we're excited to see where we end up. Hopefully, going to provincials is our next goal. We just went to a tournament, and we placed pretty well, and we're hoping to keep going and get some more wins,” Cameron said.

“Yeah, I would say the next goal is making it to provincials and just doing our best throughout the year. We still have a bit to go and just winning as much as we can and playing as well as we can,” Aldridge said.

This weekend, the Aces play on the road against the Kitchener Lady Rangers on Jan. 18.