U11 A Aces win Stratford Festival Cup Challenge

The U11 A Stratford Aces won the gold medal at the Stratford Festival Cup Challenge on Nov. 14-16. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Lana Minhinnick and Chloe Hazeleger. In the middle row, from left, are Emma Eddy, Elena Aroutzidis Desormeaux, Anne Laverty, Vivian Bohnen, and Reese Kelly. In the back row, from left, are Sofia Bitzer, Lindsey King, Lenna Roberts, Mackenzie Brown, Ruthie Bilyea, Riya Michel and Jillian Devereaux.

The U11 A Stratford Aces captured the gold medal at the Stratford Festival Cup Challenge on Nov. 14-16.

Head coach Lexi Templeman praised the team for their cohesive, hard-working play, which came despite playing their second tournament in as many weeks.

“The depth of our team and the continuous hard work from every single player stood out to me,” Templeman told the Times. “When you're only nine and 10 years old, six games in a weekend, especially back-to-back weekends, can seem really daunting, but our girls really stepped up and played hard every single shift they went out there.”

The Aces went through the four-game round-robin without suffering a loss, although it wasn’t without adversity, which Templeman explained and noted how the team showed maturity in bouncing back from a less-than-stellar performance.

“It's challenging to have conversations with kids that are so young, maybe when they didn't play their best game, but I'm the type of coach that I want to let them know if we didn't have our best game. In our second game against Oakville, I didn't think we played our strongest game. Chloe (Hazeleger) was our goalie, and she played absolutely incredible and kept us in the game, but I didn’t think we played our strongest in front of her.

“We had a conversation in the dressing room afterwards about how we need to work hard every single game, or else other teams will outplay us and beat us,” Templeman continued. “I’m just so proud of how they responded, because they came back the next game and worked so much harder, and showed they understood what we were saying.”

The Aces found themselves in a tight battle in the semi-final against the St. Thomas Panthers, securing a 1-0 victory to advance to the championship contest. Elena Aroutzidis Desormeaux scored the lone goal of the game in the second period, with assists by Ruthie Bilyea and Riya Michel. Lana Minhinnick earned the shutout in goal.

“Even though it was a tight game, we didn't let our foot off the gas one single shift,” said Templeman. “We continued to press against a really difficult St. Thomas team that we've faced many times this season. I'm really proud of the girls and the way they stuck together defensively to get that shutout, but also to get the chances we had and eventually put one on the board.”

The Aces continued their strong play in the gold medal game against the Etobicoke Dolphins. After a scoreless first period, Stratford scored three times in the second, with Michel opening the scoring on a goal assisted by Aroutzidis Desormeaux. Sofia Bitzer also scored for the Aces, and Jillian Devereaux tallied a pair, en route to Stratford winning the game 4-0. Chloe Hazeleger backstopped the Aces to the shutout win.

According to Templeman, the team’s team play led them to the gold medal victory.

“In the finals, it was all about playing as one big group. We’ve been trying to teach them about coming together as one big unit, and that it doesn’t matter who gets the goals or the assists, but it’s about a collective effort. That was a shining piece in the finals, how hard they worked as a group, the way we moved the puck, the way we forechecked, and the way we backchecked. It was a complete game from the entire team, and I think that's really what sets us apart from other teams.

“The most successful teams I've been on in my past were the teams that I felt were the closest-knit together and the ones that truly felt like family,” added Templeman. “That’s what we’re trying to instill in these girls from a young age because I think it makes all the difference. It may be hard for kids this young to start thinking about these strangers you’ve never played with before as your family, but when you get down the road, and you’re playing at the next level, it truly makes a difference.”

Templeman reflected on the team’s growth through the early months of the season, noting they have made significant progress as a group of largely unfamiliar players.

“The level of development of these kids and the understanding of these kids this early on is truly amazing to me,” Templeman began. “They show up to practice every single day, ready to learn, and they're always very receptive to feedback, both on the ice, off the ice, on the bench, during a game and during practice.

“Coming into this season, we only had one player on our roster who had ever played the A level of hockey before. Everyone else has played B or lower, and our one player who has played A, actually played boys hockey up until this year. So, coming into the year, you never know where you're going to get. You have players from all different levels and skill sets coming together for one team. But they are catching on really quickly, and you can just tell they think the game so well for such a young age.”