Powell River Queens hockey teams had another tremendous season, demonstrating mastery of the game and recording many victories.
“Our teams performed so incredibly well in the Vancouver Island league,” said Julie Venselaar, head coach of the U18 team and Powell River Minor Hockey Association female coordinator. “It’s a real testament to what we are doing here. We’re creating a good program. We’re producing some great teams and some really great players, especially at the younger ages. It’s exciting to watch.”
Venselaar said there are 76 players in the female program, including a U7 and U9 group, a U11 team, a U13 team and the U18 team. Venselaar said there were not enough U15s to make a team, nor enough U18s to make a team, so the players were combined to make a U18 team. More than 50 per cent of the team would have qualified for U15.
“I had a team with most of the players playing against players who were much older,” said Venselaar. “It was challenging for them but they did amazingly well, ending up third in the league.
“We definitely had a slow start, losing a whole bunch of games at the beginning of the season while they learned to play at a faster pace against older, bigger girls. At the end of January, our players figured it out and they played so well, winning a bunch of games and being the talk of the league. Playoffs didn’t go our way, but that’s okay.”
Adam Culos, coach of the U13 team, said the team has gone undefeated in league play for the past two seasons, posting 63 wins, with their only loss coming in the last tournament of the year.
“Overall, we had a great year,” said Culos. “Our players were very busy. They won the Vancouver Island league and also won the Vancouver Island playoffs.”
Culos said the team has 12 players, so it is a small group. He said because of this, the players get lots of ice time, but there has been a lot of growth.
“They’re a naturally gifted crew but they also work extremely hard, so they put in the effort and it shows at the end of the day,” said Culos. “For our team, it’s very straightforward. Our number one rule is to have fun. The second rule is to try your best and the third rule is to never give up. So, they take that with them and have earned everything they get.”
The Powell River girls play against teams from Oceanside, Nanaimo, Comox and Campbell River, so they are facing teams with many more players to draw on than in Powell River. Culos said on Vancouver Island, the girls program is blossoming and it is becoming more competitive.
Culos said many of this year’s players will be returning to the U13 team next year.
“We’ll get them all back next season, except for one,” said Culos. “Hopefully, we can keep it going. It’s neat to see the program grow.”
Matt Denniston, the U11 coach, said it was evident from when the team started practicing at the beginning of the season that the girls were doing great. He said U11 is the first age group where players are playing on full ice with a regulation-sized net.
“It’s the first year that you have referees and the first year where there is a score, offsides, penalties and that sort of stuff,” said Denniston. “We had our first game and you don’t know what to expect. All of a sudden, the girls go out [on the ice] and they are passing to each other, talking to each other, and the coaches stepped back, and said, ‘we didn’t do this.’ These girls were clicking right from the very beginning of the season, which was neat to see. It lit a fire under the coaches.”
Denniston said the true purpose is to develop the players into being great people, over and above the development of hockey skills. He said it shows in the way the players have become teammates, friends, and in the way they support each other.
On the ice, the players did very well, winning their league games easily, said Denniston. He said the team participated in a tournament in November, won all its games and got to the final against an equally matched team, with Powell River winning the silver medal.
“That was their first loss,” added Denniston.
The team played in another tournament before Christmas, did well in the tournament and won silver again.
“We went through the season winning all of the league games and we get to the Queen's Cup, battling hard in tournament play, getting to the final, getting another silver,” said Denniston. “We had three tournaments and three silver medals. Losing at home was tough, but at the same time, they bounced back and became more excited about the next game.”
The U11s went undefeated in league play and playoff action this past season.
Venselaar said it was a great season for all the Queens, and that she is “super happy.”
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