Battlefords Sharks reflect on silver medal at the Calgary Firestarter Tournament

The Sharks faced the defending national champion Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs in the final, falling 5-2.

“Despite the score, it really didn’t feel like it. I thought we came out strong. They just took away a lot of time and space, which was, I think, a good thing for us to see early in the year as to what we’re going to be up against if we want to compete with the best,” Horbach said.

“We didn’t quit. We had chances. We were down 4-0. It didn’t feel like a 4-0 game, but the girls battled back to 4-2, had more looks and then just a little bit of a breakdown kind of sealed it 5-2.”

Despite the loss in the final, Horbach still believes it was an incredibly successful tournament for the Sharks.

“We were never out of it, never gave up, and they responded really well. When I look at the result of a loss, I look at it from a completely different perspective. I don’t know if we could ask for a more successful weekend than what we got. So it was good on every account.”

While they went to Calgary looking for a win, Horbach understands there is much more to developing a player than victories.

“If we’re only focused on the win, then I’m not sure if we’re ever really going to help these kids get to that next level. So, we just really emphasized what they did. Going into that final, we had played four games and I think we’d only given up six goals, which is incredible when you look at how many new players we have.”

With the tournament and pre-season under their belt, Horbach is happy with the chemistry the team has built heading into the regular season.

“Admittedly, I’m not sure I expected us to gel as quickly as we did. That was extremely encouraging. I think the girls early on are starting to believe that, if we play the way we want to play and play connected and as a unit, we can have success,” he said.

“One of the things that impressed me most was when teams tried to push us around. As a group, we pushed back, stood up for each other and there was no backing down. There were a lot of smiles, and we had a lot of fun doing it.”

The Sharks, who are feeling positive heading into the season, have their home opener Sept. 26 against the Notre Dame Hounds.

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com

by Ryan Lambert

Battlefords Sharks reflect on silver medal at the Calgary Firestarter Tournament

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