After starting the season with eight straight losses, everything finally clicked for the Battleford Sharks over the weekend.
In a pair of Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League games, the Sharks picked up their first two wins of the 2017-18 campaign following 9-0 and 7-3 victories over the Weyburn Golden Wings at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn.
“We did a good job of capitalizing on our scoring chances,” Sharks head coach Gary Berggren said.
“Our work ethic has been getting better as the year has gone on here and it really came to a head this weekend on both offence and defence.”
Although they had yet to pick up a win in the first month of the season, the Sharks were coming off of a strong effort on the road on Oct. 22 as they fell 2-1 to the Regina Rebels.
With a week off before heading to Weyburn, the Sharks spent a lot of time focussing on improving their team defence as they geared up for a pair of games with the Golden Wings.
“In the games that we had played up until this point, we had always had the chances to score goals but we hadn’t a lot of puck luck,” Berggren said.
“On the defensive side, we tightened some things up and played a lot better in our own end. We had some really good goaltending, which helped us out as well.”
Sydney Rowley, Ali Aitken and Lexxa Potratz all scored a pair of goals in Saturday’s 9-0 triumph, which saw Brooklyn Rowley have a three-assist showing.
Logan Halter, Ashlee Wolfe and Keara Amson also found the back of the net, while Chloe Burt turned aside all 26 shots she faced.
Aitken was dominant in Sunday’s rematch as she scored four of her team’s seven goals.
Madison Sansom had two goals and an assist in the win, which saw Sydney Rowley score a goal and set up another.
Maya Tupper had a trifecta of assists and Burt made 40 saves.
Janna Keisig, Mahteya Dumelie and Jayden Lindholm all scored for the Golden Wings in the loss.
Thanks to their two wins, the Sharks moved into seventh in the SFMAAHL standings with a 2-8 record and are now just seven points back of the Swift Current Wildcats for third place.
“If you look at the league from top to bottom, it’s extremely tight right now,” Berggren said.
“You really have to play hard and work hard to win every night. I think it’s a great thing for the league and some of the teams that have been at the bottom of the standings in the past have become a lot better. I think it shows with some of the scores we have seen in the first month.”
The Sharks will now prepare to travel to Wilkie Saturday night as they will take on the Notre Dame Hounds in a netural site game at the SaskCan Community Centre at 7:30 p.m.
“They’ve only played a few games this year so we really don’t know much about them other than what we saw last year,” Berggren said. “They have a few players back along with some new faces that have played junior hockey, so I expect them to be a much better side.
“When it comes to us, I’m looking to see that strong work ethic that we’ve had over the last few games, in addition to capitalizing on our scoring chances and having strong defensive coverage.”
The Sharks will then host the Hounds Sunday in a 1:30 p.m. contest at the Battleford Arena.
