Two Sunshine Coast girls are making a name for themselves off-Coast playing women's hockey.
Sydney McAlister, 15, from Gibsons, and Mikaela Meyerink, 14, from Halfmoon Bay have been playing hockey since they were youngsters. Playing on the Coast has been tough for both players.
"You just can't play as much here," said Sydney. "So last year I tried out for the North Shore Avalanche team and made the squad and I've been playing with them for two years now."
With Sydney's success on the team, Mikaela soon followed and joined the team this year. With Sydney on defence and Mikaela in goal, the Avalanche had a great one/two Sunshine Coast defensive tandem and the Avalanche had quite the season in their bantam division.
The girls travelled to the North Shore three, sometimes four times a week for practices, games and conditioning programs. During spring break, the Avalanche competed in the provincial championships in Prince Rupert and for the second straight year came away with the silver medal.
The Avalanche went undefeated in round robin play and beat the Island squad 9-4 in the semifinal to advance to the final against a rival team from Kelowna.
The Avalanche were up 3-1 going into the third, but couldn't hold off Kelowna who rallied to score three goals to pick up the 4-3 win.
"It was tough winning silver again," said Sydney. "We wanted to win gold, but it just makes you want to work harder and get better prepared for next year."
Mikaela agreed.
"It was my first time in the finals with that team and it was hard to lose in the final, but winning the silver was OK," she said. "It just makes you hungry for more and makes you want to get back to the provincials next year."
Following the provincial tournament, both players tried out for the Team B.C. U16 girls' team.
Both girls played hard at the camp, but neither player was able to crack the final roster.
Both girls admit that they are highly competitive, which made playing hockey a natural sporting choice.
"I have three bothers and all of them played hockey. I didn't really like any other sports that much growing up, and with always being at the rink, I guess it rubbed off on me. Hockey seemed like the logical choice," said Mikaela.
"My dad played and I've been skating since I could walk. I just wanted to play. I'm really competitive, so I think hockey is a good outlet for that competitive fire," added Sydney.
Sydney has been invited to play in the Challenge Cup event during the May long weekend. The event will feature some of the best female hockey players in the Lower Mainland.
Both girls hope to move up to the next level with the Avalanche and play on the midget team next year.
