U18 AAA Eastman Selects fall in regionals

The Eastman Selects quest to keep their season alive came to an end April 6 in Saskatoon, as they fell in game three of an Esso Cup regional qualifier.

The Selects faced off against the Saskatoon Stars with the winner earning a spot at the national U18 AAA championship. Despite a 2-1 game one victory, the Selects dropped the next two games in the best-of-three series. Twins Delainey and Vayda Rigaux provided the goals for Eastman.

They had their chance to spoil the party in Saskatchewan in game two, erasing three one-goal leads in the first two periods, but eventually fell by a narrow 5-4 margin. A late powerplay in game two with a chance to tie the game would be as close as the team would come, falling by a lopsided 6-0 margin in the decisive game three.

The Selects have never made an appearance at the national championship, last advancing to the West regional qualifier when they were backstopped by Raygan Kirk, who now plays professionally for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Teams from Saskatchewan have won the West regional qualifier for the past six years.