After a two-week Christmas break, the Estevan PowerTech midget AA Panthers will be back on the ice at Affinity Place this weekend attempting to keep their winning streak alive against the Regina Capitals.
The Panthers (9-4-4) headed into the break on a winning note courtesy of a 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Mavericks (5-12-1) Dec. 20 at Affinity Place. Estevan's Karli Colpitts and Kailey McLellan scored singles in the game, while Michaella Matthies recorded a deuce. Panthers goaltender Litesha Spittal earned the win between the pipes.
Panthers coach Trevor Morrison said they had a tough game with their passing plays, but the effort was there and that enabled them to sneak out a win. He said their weakness this season has been playing a puck-chasing game instead of enjoying crisp tape-to-tape passes, but they'll continue to work on that as the season progresses and it will come eventually.
“We've got a really good bunch of girls,” said Morrison. “They're a good team that way. We just have to learn to pass the puck a little bit more and work as a team.”
Morrison said the team enjoyed a good start to their year through a focus on playing smart defensive hockey, considering their roster is smaller than the majority of other teams in the South Sask Female Hockey League midget AA division. He said the hope is all the girls enjoyed a good Christmas break and come back this weekend ready to go for the second half of the season.
“I'm expecting us to definitely be in the top half of the league,” he said. “With our goaltending and our defence, hopefully we score our share of goals too, I think if we could just put a few more things together on a team side of things we'll be one of the teams contending in the end.”
