ESTEVAN — It’s going to be a history-making day for the Estevan IG Wealth Management U13 AA Bearcats female hockey team on Oct. 1.
The Bearcats will play their inaugural regular season game when they host the Saskatoon Comet Hurricanes at 3:30 p.m. at Affinity Place. It will also be the first-ever game for the new U13 AA division in the Saskatchewan Female Hockey League.
Coach Shawn Madsen said it’s going to be hard to gauge the team because everything is brand new. They also haven’t seen many of the players in the league in the past three years due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re going into this fairly blind, as I think most teams are,” said coach Shawn Madsen. “I think we can be competitive. We’ve had a couple of [preseason] games against Weyburn, and we match up extremely well against them.”
Estevan defeated Weyburn 1-0 in Estevan and 3-2 in Weyburn. If those games against Weyburn are any indication, the league should be fairly tight and exciting, he said.
“The second game was much better,” said Madsen. “It’s interesting. Everyone just got more comfortable and you could see they were trying a few more things. There was a little more offence.”
The team has come together really well, Madsen said. The weekend of tryouts and cuts was really difficult. The Bearcats selected 15 players – nine forwards, four defencemen and two goaltenders. A total of 23 players tried out for the club.
The Bearcats’ staff had three tough decisions to make, he said. Some teams might have a fifth or even a sixth defenceman, but Madsen noted the Bearcats have three forwards who could shift to defence if necessary.
“That group of girls, I think, is going to have a fun year. They’re already excited. It’s a loud dressing room. You walk in the door, and they’re having a blast,” said Madsen.
The Bearcats also boast players from Macoun, Lampman, Bienfait and White Bear.
Other teams in the league are from Swift Current, Lumsden-Bethune, Rosetown, Warman, North Battleford, Prince Albert and Melfort, which will have players from throughout the northeast. He expects Saskatoon will be one of the toughest teams in the league, while Rosetown has had some great teams at the U11 level the past couple of years.
Madsen believes having a U13 AA program in Estevan will pay dividends for young female hockey players in the area.
“This is a stepping stone for these players to develop and get ready for the next level. Once they can get to U15, which is also AA, and then there’s the [U18] AAA in Weyburn, this will just set them up, and it should help improve the quality of the play all the way through.”
He’s already seen it the two preseason games.
“Typically what you see in some house teams is a sprinkle of good players amongst some that maybe aren’t quite as good,” he said. “And now you’re taking all of those ones and putting them together.”
The U13 AA Bearcats have received excellent support from the community, and people seem to be excited to see this calibre of youth female hockey come to the city.
Estevan will also have a team in the female U13 A division this season. Madsen expects they will have a full roster as well, with 14 or 15 skaters and a goalie.
