The road trips have returned for hockey. How much do you think these girls missed that?

Apparently, quite a bit and not only did a lot of these young ladies embrace the joy that is hitting the road, they all returned with some new accessories.

A group of players from Yellowknife and Hay River joined up with some of their (new) friends from Yukon as the Yukon/NWT Wild for the Richmond Ravens Ice Classic in Richmond, B.C., this past weekend. The NWT contingent helped fill the rosters for the U13 and U18 outfits SA国际影视传媒� the teams are based out of Whitehorse SA国际影视传媒� with the U13 squad romping to a gold medal and the U18 ladies coming home with silver.

The U13 ladies were the class of the field in their division, winning all five of their games and not one of them were squeakers. When you add everything up, they scored a total of 50 goals and gave up a grand total of four. Do the math and they averaged 10 goals per game and gave up less than one. They polished things off by shutting out the host team, 9-0, in the final.

Kelsey Impett, who was one of the Yellowknife players on the team, said she wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 sure how they would do but it was obvious that they were going to be dominant by the end of the second game.

SA国际影视传媒淚 was surprised at how well we did,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 thought it would be more difficult but I think we were entered in the wrong division. I donSA国际影视传媒檛 think any of us knew we would dominate the way we did.SA国际影视传媒�

What made things even more surprising for Impett was how fast the team came together, considering no one from either half of the team knew each other until shortly before the first game.

SA国际影视传媒淚 didnSA国际影视传媒檛 know one of the players from Whitehorse,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e had dinner together the night before and we got to know each other really quickly. After the first game, we were playing really well as a team and it was a lot of fun playing with them.SA国际影视传媒�

The U18s, meanwhile, also ended up in the final thanks to a record of three wins and one loss in the round-robin, the lone defeat coming at the hands of the Lumby Stars, 2-0. The final wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 a guarantee, though, as the ladies had to win or tie their final round-robin game against the Nanaimo Clippers. They made sure of that, blanking the Clippers by a score of 8-0.

Jaci Dusome, one of the Yellowknife players, said the message before that final round-robin affair was one of pressure.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur tournament life was on the line and we knew we had to push through it,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚f we didnSA国际影视传媒檛 get the result, we wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 be playing for gold.SA国际影视传媒�

And so it would be off to play for the big prize and they would have to overcome Lumby again, something Dusome said was tough to do the first time around.

SA国际影视传媒淭he first time we played them, they were really rough,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e knew we had to keep our emotions in check and not let them get to us.SA国际影视传媒�

Even with the emotions in check, Lumby did come out the better of the two teams and would skate away with the gold medal, winning by a score of 6-1. The scoreline was inflated a bit as the Wild pulled goaltender Kamilah Gostick (from Hay River) and the Stars scored a pair with the net empty.

Just like the U13s, the U18s didnSA国际影视传媒檛 know anyone before hitting the ice but Dusome said the team bonding was fast.

SA国际影视传媒淲e were shy for about the first 30 minutes but we all clicked right away,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e played some games and we were all friends after that.SA国际影视传媒�

But more than anything, the feeling of getting back out on the road was something both Impett and Dusome loved getting to do.

SA国际影视传媒淚 forgot how much fun it was to travel and be with a girls team again,SA国际影视传媒� said Impett.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was so great to be back out on the road again after a couple of years,SA国际影视传媒� added Dusome. SA国际影视传媒淚 canSA国际影视传媒檛 explain how much fun it was. We even sneaked into the pool on the last night but we escaped before we got caught.SA国际影视传媒�