Rigaux’s record-breaking performance helping Selects to 1st place

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Another player has set a new benchmark in the Eastman region.

This time it’s Vayda Rigaux, a defender for the Eastman Selects female U18 AAA team. She’s crushed the previous record of 34 points by a defender, breaking the record last week, with three weeks to spare in the schedule.

Rigaux, along with twin sister Delainey, joined the Selects this season after playing last year with the Interlake Lightning, providing a boost to a program on the rise.

Vayda Rigaux's strong offensive instincts have her as the new points leader in a season in the Manitoba U18 AAA ranks. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)
Vayda Rigaux's strong offensive instincts have her as the new points leader in a season in the Manitoba U18 AAA ranks. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)

“The reality is she was going to put up points this year,” head coach Laird Laluk said after the Selects defeated the Lightning Jan. 25.

“It’s fit in well with our team system to step up ice… It has required other players to fill into those gaps… She makes the right reads, she jumps up and sees the ice really well, she’s got a strong shot, it’s a season to remember for sure.”

Rigaux praised her teammates for making their transition from Interlake to Eastman a smooth one.

“I love these girls, they’re so awesome,” Rigaux said.

“I can’t do it without them. The points are just a bonus, I really don’t care about those. I just go in there and try to play my game, try my hardest, make good plays both offensively and defensively.”

Before joining the AAA ranks she was a top performer in the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League for the Glenlawn Lions.

Rigaux credited her two years playing with Glenlawn for her rapid development into such a potent offensive defenseman.

“I had to take on a more offensive role, and after the ninth grade I started realizing that,” she said.

“I think that just overall helped the entirety of my game.”

Rigaux and the rest of the Selects are in for an exciting finish to the regular season. Eastman and the Winnipeg Avros have been locked in a battle for first place in the Manitoba Female Hockey League’s U18 AAA division for the entire season, with the Selects holding a one-point edge in the standings as of Jan. 27, although the Avros have a game in hand.

“I’m excited to see how the season finishes,” Laluk said.

“We’ve been working really hard this year. The girls are coming together. All three zones are strong for us. We’re getting some solid goaltending, our defense are moving the puck and we’ve got strong forwards that are going to the net.”

Laluk said the team has done a good job not scoreboard watching and taking the season one game at a time, a thought echoed by Rigaux.

Vayda Rigaux's strong offensive instincts have her as the new points leader in a season in the Manitoba U18 AAA ranks. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)
Vayda Rigaux's strong offensive instincts have her as the new points leader in a season in the Manitoba U18 AAA ranks. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)

“We don’t really look at that, we just come into each game focused on that game,” she said.

“We take it one period at a time, one shift at a time.”

The Selects have turned into an entertaining hockey team, flowing from defense to offense without breaking a step.

“We’ve got mobile defense, they can see the ice really well,” Laluk said.

“They do their job in their own end, and they’ve been given the green light to step into the play and provide that support to push the offense up the ice. In saying that our forwards are knowing now that if (the defense) is coming, they’re going to read and react accordingly.”

First place should be decided on the ice, as Winnipeg and Eastman do battle against each other in one of the final regular season games of the season Feb. 7 in Niverville.

“It’s honestly irrelevant to us,” Laluk said on where the standings fall at the end of the season.

“We want to go into the playoffs on a high. You’d like to have as many home games as you can, but the truth is we want to have this identity as a team on who we are.”

Puck drop for that game is 8 p.m.

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