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Rebuilding Bears drop season opener to St Mary's

The Banff Hockey Academy Bears female prep team struggled offensively in their season opener against the St. Mary's Flames dropping the contest 4-1 at the Fenlands last Friday (Sept. 27)

BANFF – In their first competitive game of the season, the Banff Hockey Academy (BHA) Bears female prep team were defeated by St. Mary’s Academy Flames at Banff Fenlands last Friday (Sept. 27).

“We started the game well with lots of energy and we were really aggressive,” said BHA associate coach Petra Pravlíková of the first 20 minutes.

Despite little offensive zone time, the Bears managed to strike first. The quick forecheck by Sydney Chrusch forced a turnover from a Flames defender below the goal line. Chrusch fed the puck to Sakura Ito, who had her shot sneak underneath the pads of the Flames’ goaltender, before stopping on the goal line. Chrusch finished off the offensive play by poking in the puck for the Bears opening goal of the 2019-20 season. 

Bears’ goaltender Kylie Mebs looked confident in the opening frame, turning away the Flames offence, giving her side a one-goal lead heading into the second period. 

In the second, the Flames continued to pepper Mebs with shots and wear down the Bears defence. 

“Unfortunately we ran into some penalty problems in the second, and I think that could come down to our conditioning.”

Despite taking six penalties in the middle frame, the Bears killed off each penalty, including a 5-on-3. The Bears could only hold off the Flames offence for so long before the visitors tied the game, as the other team took advantage of a Bears turnover.

In the final 20 minutes, the Flames added three more goals defeating the Bears 4-1. The Bears were also out shot 67-12.

“We are a new team and these girls have never played together, so there is definitely room for improvement. This game was a good lesson,” said the coach.

Despite the season opening loss, Pravlíková remained upbeat. She explained that for many of the girls, this is the highest level of hockey they have ever played. Many of them have come from playing in recreational leagues.

“We have to turn these girls into athletes. Playing here is a step up from anywhere they have played before.”

Pravlíková stressed that conditioning and "hockey IQ" will be high on the agenda in terms of what the Bears will have to improve upon. 

"Making sure the girls can compete for a full game is very important and working more on our skills is what we need to focus on now."

The Bears will hit the road for a trio of games on Vancouver Island this weekend. They kick-off the road trip against Delta Academy on Friday (Oct. 4), and follow up against Shawnigan and Pursuit on Saturday and Sunday.

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