Road to the 2023 Esso Cup: Stoney Creek Sabres

And then there were six.

The Road to the Esso Cup is complete, as the Stoney Creek Sabres claimed
the final spot with a 3-0 victory over North York Storm at the Ontario
Women’s Hockey Association provincials on Sunday.

The Sabres will join the Prince Albert Bears (Host), Northern Selects
(Atlantic), Fraser Valley Rush (Pacific), Étoiles de Laurentides-Lanaudière
(Quebec) and Regina Rebels (West) at Canada’s Women’s U18 National Club
Championship, which begins April 23 in Prince Albert, Sask.

Here’s a quick look at all six teams competing for a national title.

Host – Prince Albert Bears

After serving as remote hosts last year in Okotoks, Alta., the Bears are
excited to finally welcome Canada’s best to Art Hauser Arena. Prince Albert
had ups and downs in the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League this
season, finishing with a 9-18-3 record before dropping its quarterfinal
playoff series against the Notre Dame Hounds 2-1.

This year marks the Bears’ third appearance at the Esso Cup; they have
previously finished fifth twice, going 2-3 in the preliminary round last
year in Okotoks and in 2017 in Morden, Man., as West Region champions.

Atlantic Region – Northern Selects

It was another strong season for the Selects, losing just one of 24 games
in the Maritime Major Female Hockey League (MMFHL) before defeating the
Cape Breton Lynx 3-1 and sweeping the Halifax Western Capitals to claim the
MMFHL title. That momentum carried into the Atlantic Regional, where the
Selects had a perfect 4-0 preliminary round before shutting out the Western
Flames to book their tickets to Prince Albert.

This marks the third trip to the Esso Cup in four years for Northern. Last
year, it went 2-3 in the preliminary round before being blanked 4-0 by the
eventual national champion Durham West Lightning in the semifinals.

Ontario Region – Stoney Creek Sabres

The Sabres boast an offensively strong team, finishing second in the OWHA
regular-season standings with a +90-goal differential. That success carried
over into the OWHA provincials, where Stoney Creek went undefeated in Pool
A against the Nepean Wildcats, Rideau St. Lawrence Thunder and Waterloo
Ravens. It shut out the Ottawa Senators and Peterborough Ice Kats 4-0 in
the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before defeating the Storm
to represent…