Blazers end prep hockey season in Buffalo

The team finished fourth overall in the regular season and as a result faced Edge School from Calgary in the preliminary round. This proved to be one of the most exiting games of the weekend with Blazers forward Emily Middagh scoring her second of the game to tie it up at 2-2 with only seconds to spare to force a five-minute overtime. With no score in overtime, the girls were forced to end things with a good old-fashioned shootout. Jessica Campbell was perfect in goal, stopping all three Edge shooters, and Tess Bracken secured the win, scoring the Blazers’ lone goal with a beautiful move.

This moved the Blazers to the quarterfinals that afternoon versus Edge once again. With injuries and fatigue mounting on our bench, the Blazers got off to a slow start, finding themselves down 1-0 after one period and 3-0 after the second. There was no quitting, though, and the Blazers continued to battle back with late goals from Tess Bracken and Chelsea Court. Despite a great all-around effort, Edge was able to advance with a 5-3 victory.

The Blazers lost another close one to OHA before finishing the year strong with a 4-1 win over Pacific Steelers.

The annual JWHL awards banquet was held over the weekend, and Kati Tabin was named to the first all-star team while Ryleigh Houston was named to the second all-star team. Fifteen Balmoral Hall student-athletes earned JWHL all-academic honours.

In all, the weekend in Buffalo was a great wrap to another excellent hockey season for the Blazers. The girls are ready for some much-needed rest. They look forward to focusing their energies on school while returning to the gym for off-season training.