The Calgary Wild defeated the South Sabres 2-0 on Sunday to capture Gold at the 2011 Team Alberta Challenge.
Calgary opened the scoring in the first period when Regan Wright put one past Sabres’ netminder, Mariah Palin. In the second, it was Hali Reardon of the Wild finding the back of the net to put Calgary up by two. Neither team could muster any offense in the third period as Calgary went on the win 2-0. The Wild’s Alicia Anderson made 22 saves in the shutout win.
In other final day action, the Edmonton Flyers beat the Northeast Penguins 4-2 in The “B Final” to finish the tournament in 3rd place while the Northwest Hawks defeated the Central Lightning 6-1 to win the “C Final” and finish in 5th place.
The Team Alberta Challenge brings together the top U16 female hockey players from six zone teams from across the province - Calgary Wild, Central Lightning, Edmonton Flyers, Northeast Penguins, Northwest Hawks, and South Sabres – to compete in a short-term tournament format competition. The rosters are made up of 20 athletes, 3 coaches, a coach mentor, a director of operations, and a trainer from each zone.
The Team Alberta Challenge Program begins in March each year with players trying out at their respective zone camps. Each of the 120 athletes playing in the Team Alberta Challenge is competing for one of 60 invites to the U16 Female Provincial Camp. The U16 Female Provincial Camp is the final stage in the first year of the Team Alberta Program.
The Team Alberta Challenge program is a core Hockey Alberta Development Program. It provides all players, coaches, trainers and referees an equal opportunity to discover the great qualities of competitive hockey in a well-organized and fair Zone Camp and Select Team competition. The program is held in years opposite of the Alberta Winter Games.
