The next game for the Sharks is Saturday, November 16th against the Swift Current Wildcats at the AGT Centre in Rosetown. (Photo courtesy of Kristy Klassen)

By Austin Mattes

Battlefords AAA Sharks

Sharks success continues as they climb to #2 on national rankings

Oct 30, 2024 | 5:00 PM

It’s been a great start to the season for the Battlefords AAA Sharks as they currently hold a 6-0-2 record in their league, are the number one team in the league and according to myhockeyrankings.com, are the #2 ranked team in the nation.

Overall, the Sharks have a 10-0-2-1 record and haven’t lost a game in regulation yet. The success for the team started before the regular season when they got third in the Calgary Firestarter Tournament in September, winning four games and tying one.

Recently, the Sharks just came off a two-game weekend split against the Saskatoon Stars where they lost 4-3 in overtime on this past Saturday and then won 4-3 on Sunday.

Head Coach Nolan Horbach said the reason for the team’s success so far has been the attitude of the returning girl as well as the hard work and attention to detail put in from the players.

“The returning girl’s kind of set the tone for the team and we had a great start in Calgary, and we carried that over through the first eight games of the regular season…The girls are being rewarded for all the work they put in and I think one of the things we continue to work on is all the little details within the game…This past weekend in Saskatoon, I’d say that’s probably our best complete team effort since Calgary and we probably deserved better in Saturday’s overtime loss, but Sunday was a real good rebound and we’re happy with where we are.”

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This past week, the Sharks also received great news as they were invited to the Mandy Schwartz Memorial Tournament, being held December 12th to 15th in Wilcox and Maidstone. This is one of the biggest tournaments in Western Canada and brings in 16 of the best teams from across the country to compete.

“They bring in the best of the best and it’s a great showcase for the girls from a recruiting perspective. Lots of college and universities there, so it’s big deal for us, it’ll be a good benchmark for where we’re at individually and as a team.” Horbach said.

Another reason the team has seen success so far this season is due to the work put in during the off season by the coaches and scouting staff to find the right players for the team.

After last season, the team essentially had a full reset, only keeping a few players and getting a whole new team.

“First and foremost, we wanted players that wanted to be here. We had a hard reset last year since we released everyone except for a few that had a chance to return. Now we’re bigger, stronger, faster and just we play like it and we act like it off ice and we got a good group that enjoys the game, enjoys being around each other, we are truly a team. So yeah, we have some local players but we’ve been fortunate to have talented girls from all over” Horbach said.

The next game for the Sharks is Saturday, November 16th against the Swift Current Wildcats at the AGT Centre in Rosetown.

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austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes