CALGARY, AB: A recent road trip to Alberta vaulted the 16U Female Super League (FSL) team at Purcell Hockey Academy (PHA) to the top of the standings after the team went 4-0 in games versus the Bow Valley Nationals, Angels Pro Hockey, Aurora Hockey Club, and Calgary Glaciers. The Kimberley-based team of student-athletes who attend Purcell Collegiate School (PCS) enters the Christmas Break with a record of 15-1, good enough for a four-point lead in the race for the FSL regular-season title.
PHA kicked off its Alberta road trip with a gritty 5-3 victory over the Bow Valley Nationals at the 7 Chiefs Sportsplex & Jim Starlight Centre in Calgary on the strength of a 41-save performance from goaltender Justyna Koszyk. Malgorzata Zakrzewska (2 goals and 1 assist) and Carlota Castellanos (1 goal and 2 assists) led the way with three-point games. Elsa Rodriguez Camacho (1 goal, 1 assist), Yaann Yuen (1 goal), and Greta Konradova (1 goal) also scored with Freya Ekberg (1 assist) chipping in with a helper. It was another face-paced, end-to-end contest between the top two teams in the FSL with the back-and-forth game living up to the pre-game hype.
PHA travelled up Highway 2 to Edmonton for its next two games, the first of which came against a surging Angels Pro Hockey team. PHA ran into a red-hot goaltender, eking out a 4-2 victory despite outshooting their opponent 44-19. Grace Kells was strong in net, making several timely saves to keep PHA close as they peppered the opposing goalie in an attempt to solve her before time expired. The result was a come-from-behind victory for Purcell led by Elsa Rodriguez Camacho whose second goal of the game trigged PHA’s third-period comeback. It also produced a highlight reel that has gone viral on Facebook and Instagram. Carlota Castellanos also had a strong game with a goal and two assists. Freya Ekberg played the hero, netting the game-winner with less than two minutes to play.
The second game of the day for PHA was versus Aurora Hockey Club. PHA came out strong and never looked back, scoring early and often en route to a 10-1 victory. Malgorzata Zakrzewska was on fire, netting a hat trick to go along with two helpers. Three PHA players counted three-point performances: Greta Konradova (2 goals, 1 assist), Freya Ekberg (1 goal, 2 assists), and Yaann Yuen (3 assists). Carlota Castellanos (2 goals) and Zia Mayard (2 assists) were also multi-point producers with Sohketa Lewis (1 goal), Elsa Rodriguez Camacho (1 goal), Evelyn Vitkovskiy (1 assist), Anastasiia Nesterenko (1 assist), and Rebecca Griffin (1 assist) contributing as well. Grace Kells once again held down the fort between the pipes, stopping 14 of 15 shots that came her way.
It was back to Calgary for a Sunday afternoon affair between PHA and Calgary Glaciers in the fourth and final game of the Alberta report. PHA survived a closely-contested first period that saw the teams go to the dressing room knotted at one goal apiece. PHA’s high-powered offense found its feet in the second period, scoring five times as the team cruised from there to a 6-2 victory. Carlota Castellanos had a dominant performance, scoring twice and adding two helpers for a four-point game. Malgorzata Zakrzewska (1 goal and 1 assist), Yaann Yuen (1 goal), Anastasiia Nesterenko (1 goal), Elsa Rodriguez Camacho (1 goal), Evelyn Vitkovskiy (1 assist), and Zia Mayard (1 assist) also contributed to a gritty performance at the tail end of a long road trip. Grace Kells was stellar in net, producing a 22-save performance, playing her third straight game in less than 36 hours.
PHA enters the Christmas Break with four players in the top 10 of the scoring race: Malgorzata Zakrzewska leads the league with 26 goals, 19 assists, and 45 points; Freya Ekberg is in second place with 13 goals, 21 assists, and 34 points; Calota Castellanos sits in sixth place with 14 goals, 10 assists, and 24 points; and Greta Konradova, the league’s top-scoring defenseman, is in ninth place with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points. Amongst goaltenders, Grace Kells leads the league in Goals Against Average while Justyna Koszyk sits fourth in Save Percentage.
Multiple members of PHA’s 16U team have now returned to their home countries for the holidays as they prepare to represent their nations at upcoming IIHF world championship events. Congratulations and good luck to Malgorzata Zakrzewska and Justyna Koszyk (Poland), Carlota Castellanos and Elsa Rodriguez Camacho (Spain), Freya Ekberg (Denmark), Greta Konradova (Slovakia), and Maggie Prior (Australia). PHA 19U players on their respective country’s U18 national teams include Vera Stastkova and Aneta Paroubkova (Czechia), Johanna Meissner (Australia), and Alejandre Radcliffe (Mexico).
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.