It has been a great start to the hockey season for the Estevan Female midget A Baxter Cougars. The Cougars won two more league games over the last week to improve their record to 4-0-2.
The first game of the week was last Wednesday in Bienfait, where the Cougars blanked the Weyburn Oilers 3-0. Scoring for Estevan in that game were Cheyenne Grant, Katie Cameron and Meagan Hamilton, while Amata Poirier got the shutout in goal.
After a few days off, the Cougars hosted the Fort Qu'Appelle Flyers at the Lignite Miners Centre in what turned out to be a tightly contested game. Thanks to a pair of third period goals by Jolie Walliser and Paige Collopy, Estevan came out on top with a 2-1 victory.
The Cougars played their third game of the week on Sunday against the Assiniboia Stingers in an exhibition contest which Estevan won 5-2. Hamilton led the way for the Cougars with a two-goal effort, while Cameron, Jennifer Biette and Kaitlyn Dukart added the others.
Assistant coach Larry Doan said there are a few reasons the Cougars are having such success this year, starting with the fact that they have always played in a division that was older than what they were. Now they're at a point where they're playing against teams that are actually in their age group.
"We've also got some girls that have come from out of town, which has made a huge impact on our team," said Doan. "It's a maturity thing. The girls have finally hit their stride, and all the years of teaching them is finally starting to come together."
Doan said the South Sask Female midget A league is competitive this season, but having already played some of the toughest team's, he expects the Cougars to be able to stay in the mix the rest of the way.
"It's going to be a very good year for our girls," he said. "They're playing at a good pace and some of the systems that we've been working on are starting to come together."
Not only is the Estevan team in first place in the standings, they also have five of the league's top 10 scoring leaders on their roster, including Hamilton, who leads the league in points with 11.
According to Doan, the Carnduff native is an excellent team player who is always in the right place on the ice, thanks to her hard work.
"She works very hard and she never takes a moment off," he said. "If she's got a second to be on the ice, she's working as hard as she possibly can. She's had some very good coaching in the past, and is just a terrific little person to work with."
Hamilton and the Cougars are back in action this weekend with a pair of home games. On Friday night, they host the Regina Flames at the LMC at 8 o'clock. Then on Saturday, the Melville Miss Mills we be in town. That game is also at the LMC at 8 p.m.
