Two Cochrane hockey players and longtime friends shone at last weekend’s Hockey Alberta development tournament.
Bailey Fiala and Sarah Wozniewicz, members of the Olds Grizzlys bantam elite team of the Alberta Female Hockey League, were both selected to take part in the challenge, a weekend of competition held in alternating years to the Alberta Winter Games. The camp identifies and evaluates potential players for the provincial Team Alberta program.
Three teams from the south and three from the north were pitted against each other, and Fiala and Wozniewicz each played for the south but on different squads, alongside the brightest hockey players in the region. The girls had time to bond with each other off the ice as well.
“It was a really cool experience,” said Fiala, a 14-year-old Grade 8 student at Mitford Middle School. “We were always doing something.”
“We just bonded as a team and by the end, we were all friends,” added Wozniewicz.
The southern side ended up sweeping the medal rounds, with Wozniewicz’s team taking gold and Fiala’s earning bronze.
The girls agreed the pace of the hockey at the challenge was faster than their regular season action – which forced them to up their game in order to win.
“It was a really physical team. We knew we just had to come out hard and they would back off,” said Fiala.
Wozniewicz and Fiala said they also knew there were scouts, coaches and other high-level staff keeping a close eye on their level of play – but they tried to block out any outside pressure and focus on what was right in front of them.
“I was kind of nervous at the start,” said Wozniewicz. “At the end, I didn’t pay attention to all that stuff.”
“I try not to think about that while I’m playing. I don’t want it to affect my game,” Fiala echoed.
On the last day of the challenge, Wozniewicz was named the Alberta Built Player of the Day, which is given to an athlete defined as a good person, a character and grit player, with leadership skill and a focus on performance.
The Mitford student was also honoured with one of three All-Star Forward Awards of the whole tournament.
