As the only peewee female rep hockey team on Vancouver Island, the South Island Royals qualified directly to the provincial championships last month, while the teams from the Mainland and Interior had to play off for the right to attend.
But the Royals didn’t take anything for granted.
“It was a good experience for the girls to get to provincials,” coach Kris Kennedy said. “A lot of kids don’t get there. They knew it was something special.”
The Royals weren’t out of place at the provincial tournament in Cloverdale, going 1-4, although they weren’t blown out in any of the losses.
Unlike most of the other teams at provincials, the Royals played only a few of their games during the season against other female teams. They only saw the other peewee female teams when they travelled to tournaments. Playing most of their games against boys may have had an impact on the results at provincials.
“We got into a little bit of penalty trouble because of our physical play, although I’m not using that as an excuse. I loved the way we did play, but we didn’t know if the Mainland teams or Interior teams would play like that.”
“We felt really good about the progress of the team all year,” Kennedy said.
Made up of players from communities between Ladysmith and Sidney, the team had a few challenges to overcome during the season.
“The girls didn’t know each other, and it took a while to gel,” Kennedy recalled.
“It was nice to see them come together out there. They all improved vastly.”
Unlike most minor hockey teams, who represent local associations, the Royals played under the Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association umbrella. Their home ice was the Wurtele Arena on the naval base in Esquimalt, although they practiced anywhere from Fuller Lake to Sooke to Sidney and played games all over the Island.
“Logistically it was a challenge, but everyone showed up to nearly every practice. We made it work.”
The team boasted strong representation from the Cowichan Valley, including players Emma Wright, Ella Stone, Bianca Steele and Ava Kennedy, and coaches Kennedy and Terry Steele.
“It says something about how girls are developing in the Cowichan Valley,” Kennedy said.