Some hockey moms brought out the good crystal in celebration of winning a league championship last month.
However, it wasn’t for their sons or daughters bringing home the hardware, it was due to their own efforts as the Okotoks Rockies won the Crystal Cup when they beat the Calgary Storm 5-0 on March 21 in Calgary.
It was a major upset in the Ladies Daytime Hockey (Intermediate) League final and the Rockies didn’t end up sucking — on lollipops that is.
“The Storm had only lost one game all season,” said the Rockies Kerri Hoven. “We nailed it. That was our Stanley Cup for women over 35 — that was our dream. We wanted to drink out of the Cup and not suck on a lollipop.”
The Rockies’ Paula Stadnyk, who had one goal in the victory, bought a bag of lollipops to console her teammates if they lost..
“We ended up sipping out of the cup — apple juice — we’re so wild,” Hoven said with a laugh.
championship just two years after coming out of the Hockey Bags.
“Really how this all started was there was a parents-kids hockey game in Okotoks and some of the moms got out in full equipment for the first time and we had a really good time,” Hoven said during a scrimmage Thursday morning at the Murray Arena in Okotoks. “Some of he women said: ‘Hey let’s do this. Let’s start playing.”
As a result, the Hockey Bags were formed four years ago. Due to growing interest in the Hockey Bags, the Rockies were born two years ago.
“We put a team of women together who wanted to play a more competitive level of hockey,” said Michelle Sharkey, one of the founders of the Rockies.
The Rockies started in the Beginners division of the LDHL at the start of last season, but were bumped up to the Intermediate league finishing fifth.
They improved in season two winning the title in upset fashion.
“I am so proud of this team — it was a total heart win,” Sharkey said of the victory over the Storm. “Everyone raised their games and we beat them. ”
Sharkey was like a lot of her teammates — she got the hockey bug from her children.
“I love playing and I love watching my kids,” she said. “Now we will get ready for baseball.”
Okotoks’ Tara Sziva has two children in hockey and she put the hockey blades on for the first time when she joined the Rockies.
“I had never played hockey before in my life even though I played a lot of other sports — basketball, volleyball,” said Sziva, a physical education teacher at John Paul II Collegiate. “I have one child in Novice and the other in Initiation. The fact that my daughter and son plays encouraged me to play — I have empathy with them.”
Stadnyk has two children in hockey and watching her children play inspired her to not only put on the skates, but also the goalie pads earlier this season..
“I grew up in Saskatchewan and I played ringette — they didn’t have female hockey when I was growing up,” said Stadnyk, who had a goal in the victory over the Storm. “I hadn’t stepped on the ice since I was 18 until I joined this team.”
Her two sons, Joshua and Samuel, both aspire to play goal – and you know what they say, like sons, like mom.
“You know what I did — this is bucket list — I dressed as a goalie for three games and it was the most amazing thing ever,” Stadnyk said. “I come from a family of goalies.”
Of course, with such a big event as mom playing between the pipes, it deserves some special attention.
“The day I first played goalie I took my kids out of school to come and see me do that,” Stadnyk said with a smile. “I thought since they both wanted to be goalies, they would remember this more than anything they would learn in school that day.”
Neilly McDougall, who had four goals against the Storm, moved to Okotoks last spring and started playing with the Rockies this season.
“Winning the Crystal Cup was a great experience to share with the other women,” McDougall said. “It was the other ladies who did all the work on my four goals.
“I just happened to be there.”
