ESTEVAN — Hockey season might be finished for most athletes in southeast Saskatchewan, but goaltender Baya Summers has been busy on the ice lately.
Summers was part of the Team Sask Elite spring hockey program, a squad comprised of 2011-born players. She was asked to join the Elite after playing for the Southeast U15 AA Gold Wings team, which is a part of the Saskatchewan Female Hockey League's South Division.
The Elite won silver at the Battle at the Beach tournament in Florida earlier in May. They lost 3-1 in the gold-medal game against the Western Selects – a team comprised of top players from half a dozen U.S. states. The Selects scored the final goal into an empty net.
Team Sask started the tournament with a 2-1 shootout loss against the Selects. Then they fell 2-0 against the Pennsylvania Roses, recovered to beat the Michigan Southeast Elite 5-0, but lost 2-1 in overtime against the Alberta Warriors.
In the playoffs, the Elite won 5-1 over the Warriors in the quarter-final and 5-4 in overtime against the Roses.
Summers played the first game against the Selects, both times against Alberta and split the goaltending duties against Pennsylvania.
Summers is pleased with how she played in the tournament. She said she never gave up and she enjoyed being part of the Elite.
"It was our first time all playing together as a team. I'd never played any of these girls before, other than five of them," said Summers.
It took a while for the team to come together, but Summers saw the progress they made. It leaves her feeling good entering their next tournament, which will be June 12-15 in Minneapolis.
The Goldwings went 11-15-1 while Summers had a 5-8 mark with a 3.88 goals against average and the third-best save percentage in the league at .912 in her first season at the U15 level.
She believes all of these experiences will help her. Playing at higher levels, meeting new people and going different places will only make her a better goalie.
