It has been nearly a year since the Battlefords Sharks picked up a win in front of their home fans.
The struggles at the Battleford Arena for the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League team became a thing of the past Sunday afternoon, as the Sharks improved to 3-7-1 on the season following a 4-1 win over the Swift Current Wildcats.
“It was an excellent performance from the girls, especially with how they bounced back following a 6-3 loss to Swift Current the night before,” Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said.
“We came out flat in that game and we couldn’t recover. We challenged the girls to come out hard right off the bat and they came out on top.”
Sunday’s victory was the first for the Sharks at home since a 5-2 win over the Melville Prairie Fire on Dec. 12, 2015.
“It’s a really great feeling for everyone on the team to get that win here,” Sharks forward and assistant captain Dakota Peterson said.
“We had some tough games to start the season, but we are starting to get more confidence and I think this will be an extra motivator for our entire team.”
Sunday’s game was decided by special-team goals for the Sharks, as they scored a pair of power play goals and also had two shorthanded markers.
“We’ve been working a lot in practice on getting good goal-scoring opportunities and the younger players are really starting to understand what it takes to score in this league,” Berggren said.
“They are driving hard to the net and getting more pucks on the other goalies. As a result, their shots are going in the net.”
Layne Hryhoriw scored twice for the Sharks on Sunday, while Madison Sansom and Keara Amson both had a goal and an assist.
Peterson dished out two helpers while Chloe Burt made 33 saves to earn the win.
Taylor Lind had the lone goal for the Wildcats, who are fourth in the league standings with a 5-4-3 record.
Amara Lewendon made 14 saves in the loss.
A slow start was the Sharks undoing Saturday night, as they spotted the Wildcats a 4-0 lead by the early stages of the second period.
The Sharks clawed their way back to within a goal in the third period, but the visitors put the game on ice with a pair of power play markers.
“After that game, we knew that we had to come out a lot stronger in the first period if we wanted to win the rematch,” Peterson said.
“Sometimes we come out flat footed early on, as we really don’t know what to expect from the other team. Our second and third periods have been solid, but those early deficits can be hard to overcome at times.”
Hryhoriw, Amson and Ali Aitken scored for the Sharks in the loss, while Chantel Weller made 39 saves.
Lind, who leads the league in scoring with 21 points in 12 games, had a hat trick for the Wildcats.
Chloe Smith had a goal and two assists for the visitors while Janessa Fournier potted a pair of goals.
Harper Davey turned aside 18 shots to earn the win.
The Sharks will be back at the Battleford Arena this weekend as they will go up against the Prince Albert Bears for a pair of games.
“They have a really fast team with a number of small but dynamic forwards,” Berggren said.
“Keeping pace with them will be the biggest key to having success against Prince Albert.”
