A recent road trip to Saskatchewan vaulted the 16U Female Super League (FSL) team at Purcell Hockey Academy (PHA) further up the standings after PHA went 4-0 in games vs. the Lloydminster Jr. Rustlers and Saskatoon Phantoms. PHA leads the league in winning percentage and sits third overall in the standings, having played fewer games than the two teams ahead of them. The Kimberley-based team of student-athletes who attend Purcell Collegiate School (PCS) has a record of 11-1 with five games at hand as they chase down the Bow Valley Nationals and Langley Leafs for first place overall.
PHA kicked off its Saskatchewan road trip with a convincing 9-1 victory over the host Phantom Female Hockey program in Aberdeen, just outside of Saskatoon. Anastasiia Nesterenko led the way with two goals and one assist. Malgorzata Zakrzewska (1 goal and 2 assists) and Amy Leimgruber (3 assists) also had three-point games with Freya Ekberg (2 goals), Yaann Yuen (2 assists), Zia Mayard (2 assists), Carlota Castellanos (2 assists), Arlo Hughes (1 goal), Sohketa Lewis (1 goal), Greta Konradova (1 goal), Elsa Rodriguez Camacho (1 goal), Evelyn Vitkovskiy (1 assist), and Rebecca Griffin (1 assist) all contributing to the cause. Grace Kells was solid in net, turning away 14 of 15 shots that came her way.
Saturday morning’s game versus the Jr. Rustlers was a closely-contested affair that saw PHA pull away late in the game for a 5-2 victory. Freya Ekberg had another strong game, tallying one goal and two assists. Malgorzata Zakrzewska (1 goal, 1 assist) and Greta Konradova (2 assists) also had multi-point games with Yaann Yuen (1 goal), Anastasiia Nesterenko (1 goal), Zia Mayard (1 goal), and Amy Leimgruber (1 assist) also contributing. Grace Kells backstopped the effort with a great game in net, stopping 30 of 32 shots she faced.
PHA returned to the ice later that day to face the Phantoms for a second time, this time defeating the host club 8-1. Greta Konradova (2 goals and 1 assist) and Malgorzata Zakrzewska (2 goals and 1 assist) were PHA’s top offensive producers with Evelyn Vitkovskiy (1 goal, 1 assist), Freya Ekberg (2 assists), Arlo Hughes (1 goal), Rebecca Griffin (1 goal), Elsa Rodriguez Camacho (1 goal), Yaann Yuen (1 assist), Sohketa Lewis (1 assist), Zia Mayard (1 assist), and Carlota Castellanos (1 assist) playing their respective parts in the victory. Justyna Koszyk stood tall between the pipes, stopping 17 of 18 shots for PHA.
The final game of the weekend saw PHA play the Jr. Rustlers for a second time with Malgorzata Zakrzewska (3 goals and 3 assists) producing a standout performance, leading her team to a 10-2 victory. Yaann Yuen (2 goals, 1 assist), Anastasiia Nesterenko (2 goals, 1 assist), Freya Ekberg (1 goal, 2 assists), Carlota Castellanos (1 goal, 1 assist), Elsa Rodriguez Camacho (1 goal, 1 assist), Amy Leimgruber (2 assists), Sohketa Lewis (2 assists), Evelyn Vitkovskiy (1 assist) and Rebecca Griffin (1 assist) chipped in to close out the scoring.
Zakrzewska’s six-point effort against the Phantoms cemented her at the top of the FSL scoring race which she leads with 20 goals and 15 assists for a total of 35 points in 12 games. Sitting second in the league is PHA’s Freya Ekberg with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points, also in 12 games. Greta Konradova sits tenth in scoring with 10 goals and 9 assists for 19 points in 12 games.
PHA’s 16U team next sees action the weekend of December 5-7 when they take to the road again to face the league-leading Bow Valley Nationals, Angels Pro Hockey, Aurora Hockey Club, and Calgary Glaciers on a highly-anticipated Alberta swing. To keep up with PHA, follow the team on social media at @purcellhockey, on the FSL website at www.femalesuperleague.com, and on Silent Ice TV at www.silenticetv.com.