The Yorkton Gardon Crushers of the South Saskatchewan Female Bantam ‘A’ Hockey League are off to the league finals against the Moose Jaw Mavericks after winning their semifinal series 2-1 against the Regina Cougars.
Regina took the first win of the series 5-2. Yorkton won the second 7-4. On Sunday, March 12, game three was held in Yorkton at the Kinsmen Arena, and Yorkton took the win 5-1.
Crushers’ head coach Fred Schrader said the key to the team’s successful season was their ability to work together.
“They’re just a good bunch of girls,” said Schrader.
On the ice, Schrader said their strongest points are their forwards and goaltending. He said they’re “stronger than some of the other teams out there” in those positions.
Looking ahead to the final series against Moose Jaw, Schrader said they plan to play a well-rounded game on the ice.
He mentioned that Moose Jaw has the league’s leading scorer, so a lot of the Mavericks’ play will revolve around her.
“We play a solid team game and we take care of our end first, and that leads to success at their end,” said Schrader.
The Yorkton Gardon Crushers finished second place in their league with 39 points. The Mavericks finished one place above them in first with 43 points.
The Crushers and the Mavericks faced off four times during the regular season. The Crushers took two wins, the Mavericks took one, and one resulted in a tie.
The series should be a close and entertaining one. The schedule has not been released at time of print, but the Moose Jaw Mavericks will get home ice advantage for game one. The second will be played in Yorkton.
