The Northern Lights ringette team has placed 15th at the U-19 Ringette Canadian Nationals.
This year’s event was hosted by the Lower Mainland Ringette League (LMRL) in Burnaby April 8 – 14, with 19 U-19 teams competing and the win going to the host team.
Terrace had two players on the ice with the Northern Lights, Aimee Qualizza and Rylee English. The team is a regional team made up of players from Terrace to Quesnel.
“It was really good,” said English. “It was probably one of the best experiences ever.”
She attributes this to having the opportunity to play so many high-level ringette games.
Play for the team started off on April 9th against Quebec’s Lac St. Louis, where the Lights won, 6-2. Later in the day, the Northern Lights lost to Cambridge, Ontario, 8-4.
Day two the team faced Manitoba’s Bonivital, who managed to skate away with a close 4-3 victory. The second game of the day for the Northern Lights was another loss, this time 7-1 to Alberta’s zone five team, who hail from an area outside of Edmonton.
Day three the Lights took on B.C.’s provincial winners the LMRL, and lost 7-5. Later that same day, the team took a win over Quebec’s Montreal team, 3-4.
The fourth day hosted a mini game, which is a 10-minute match, between B.C.’s north and south, with the LMRL again taking the win, this time with a 2-1 score.
“It’s the most intense thing ever,” said English of the mini match, which was important as it decided if the team went into the championship round, or the consolation round.
The final game for the Northern Lights was in the consolation round on Friday, April 13, which resulted in a 5-3 loss to Quebec’s BLL team.