The AAA Sharks celebrate following a win earlier this season. (Submitted photo/Kristy Classen)

By Martin Martinson

New Opportunity

AAA Sharks earn invite to Mandi Schwartz Memorial Hockey Tournament

Oct 31, 2023 | 5:42 PM

Coming off a 4-2-0-1 start to the 2023-24 hockey season, the Battlefords AAA Sharks sit third overall in the Sask Female U18 AAA Hockey League (SFU18AAAHL) standings, earning them an invite to one of the most prestigious female hockey tournaments in the country.

The Sharks will be one of just three teams from the league – along with first-place Regina (6-2-0-0) and second-place Saskatoon (5-0-1-0), to be invited to the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament, held in Wilcox and Milestone Dec. 7-10.

The largest female U18 hockey tournament in Western Canada, this will be the first time in club history the AAA Sharks have been selected to take part in the tourney, featuring top teams from across the western provinces.

“I think the players and the entire organization is pretty excited about this,” Sharks’ manager Trenna Derdall said. “To be in the standings where we are right now, at this point in the season, is exciting and this to me is just an indication of what this team can do and what kind of players we have and how the organization has come together.”

The tournament invitation comes just a year after the Sharks finished seventh in the league last season with just two wins in 30 games, prior to changing their entire coaching staff and front office outlook over the summer, with just a single returnee from last year’s club on the ice.

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Having entered the season with a virtual blank slate and a fresh start for the team, Derdall said the invite to the tournament goes to show the group’s hard work put in, and the players’ dedication has paid off.

“It’s just a lot of hard work from everyone, whether that’s staff, the players, the supportive parents, and the community,” she said.

“For us to put together a team like this and then have the success we have so far, and to top it all off with being invited to the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament, it’s a great chance to showcase the talent we have, the players we have, and what the organization is going to look like this year and moving forward.”

The Sharks will return to action this weekend for back-to-back games against Swift Current at Battleford Arena. Saturday’s game will be a 7:30 p.m. start, with Sunday’s an afternoon puck drop at 1:30 p.m.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1