Bronze medal at nationals for local ringette squad

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This article was published 22/04/2010 (5961 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Prairie Fire turned in a much improved performance at this year’s National Ringette League championship in Saskatoon.

The squad earned a bronze medal at this year’s tournament, which wrapped up April 10, after finishing in sixth place a year ago. It was just the second appearance for the Fire at the tournament since the team’s inception in 2006.

“This year just felt a little different,” acknowledged Andrea Ferguson, the team’s most senior player. 

“We kind of decided at the beginning of the year what we wanted to do, and we just bought into a team system and kept it going throughout the season,” the 25-year-old Charleswood product added.

Ferguson, who’s been with the Prairie Fire since their inaugural season, was the team’s leading scorer at the tournament, notching seven goals and 17 points in eight games en route to helping Manitoba win its first medal since joining the NRL.

The Fire iced the same core group of players from last year, including leading scorer Sheena MacDonald, who tallied 53 points this year, and 2010 NRL top defenseman, Lindsay Burns.

Head coach Bob Madziak said one of the major differences from last year’s team was its added depth. The team dressed 15 players at this year’s championship tournament, up from the 10 who participated in last year’s tourney.

“We were tired last year, so we wanted a bigger bench this time around,” Madziak said.

“We wanted to keep our legs fresh, and try to get the right people out there in all the right situations; the teams with three lines will often skate their opponent into the ground.”

Madziak added that his team is relatively young for NRL standards, with five players under the age of 20. Among the younger newcomers were netminder Elise Crocker, 19, who led the NRL’s Western Conference in wins with 16, and NRL rookie of year finalist Morgan Jones.

The five-day tournament featured 10 teams vying for national superiority, including the top three Western Conference teams and the top five Eastern Conference teams, along with an Atlantic representative and the host.

The Fire opened the tournament with three straight wins over the host Saskatoon Wild, Montreal Mission and Glaucester Devils. Their only opening-round blemish came at the hands of the eventual tournament champion Edmonton WAM! in a 4-3 overtime decision. 

Two days later, the WAM! blanked the Fire 2-0 to earn a berth in the gold medal game. WAM! went on to defeat the reigning NRL champion Cambridge Turbos for the gold medal while the Fire settled for bronze.

“It was one of those games that could’ve gone either way, but we’re definitely pleased with being among the top three, “ Ferguson said.

“Maybe next year we’ll improve again, and play gold — you never know.”

by Joel Marcoux