Rhino's Ramblings - Giggles, Hard Work And Perseverance The Mavericks 2020 Season Summed Up

By Robert Thomas - Opinon/Commentary

It is going to be known as the season cut short by a precautionary measure from Hockey Canada to a virus called Covid – 19 and it all came down to a one game final.

There was no trophy, no banner, no great cliché team photo taken by parent after parent on the ice to preserve for later years. Just a small two minute gathering at one end of the ice by members of the visiting team.

That was how quick and unexpected the season ended for the Moose Jaw Midget A Mavericks as they were defeated 5 – 0 on home ice in what has turned out to be a winner take all single game – the Corona Cup - in Saskatchewan Female Hockey League action this past Thursday night.

Although the scoreboard will never reflect it the game itself will be remembered by the players and those close to the team as one of the finest efforts on local minor hockey scenes.

Here you had a group of girls who were for a large part rookies and not just ordinary rookies, but often rookies pressed into service who should be playing Bantam aged hockey.

It is no lie this is a team which was dominated by players if you really want to say it were playing out of their league – at least age wise is a fact. But when it came to skill, talent and playing with their hearts on their sleeves the 2020 Moose Jaw Midget A Mavericks won a gold medal in that event.

As I did my final post game interview I told head coach Mike Botterill what I saw was perhaps the most memorable moment of the entire season or rather I should say the type of play which signified the true spirit of this team.

I remember one game when Jadyn Palaschuk, who plays defence, just kept on getting knocked down. And each time it seemed she would get hit harder and despite getting up slowly she kept bouncing back.

And then it was the fourth time Palaschuk was hit and there I was about 25 feet away and I am certain I heard her leg break. That sound once you hear it you will never forget it.

Fortunately her leg was not broken and after an extended period on the bench she was begging the coaching staff to get back into the game.

In that one game the actions of one player signified to me the entire spirit of the team. It was not just one player but an entire team effort.

Throughout the year you had players show up injured and sore it seemed from other sports – most often high school sports – but the Midget A Mavericks always rebounded.

Certainly the loss of their then top two scorers Makayla Anderson and Sidney Ellingson due to knee injuries hurt the team but they got back up collectively, regrouped and came fighting back. That is the true essence and spirit of this year's Midget A Mavericks.

If you really took a good look at all of the teams in Midget A play in this season's Saskatchewan Female Hockey League action the rookie rich crop of Bantam aged players from Moose Jaw should not have finished where they did.

But despite this what you had was a group of girls willing to work together from players graduating from their Midget and minor hockey days to players with years to go. Age-wise it should not have worked but in the end it all gelled. Everyone truly worked together.

Over the past three seasons I have covered Mavericks hockey what I have seen is not just girls who came out to play but in practice they wanted to learn, advance, grow and develop their skills.

And the one thing they have had on their side is probably the best coaches in the entire Moose Jaw Minor Hockey Association (MJMHA).

And it was not just the head coaches but throughout the entire bench.

For two years during Bantam many of the players had the opportunity to develop under the tutelage of head coach Stephan Gauvin – at the time in many people’s opinions the best coach in the MJMHA.

But it was more than that.

It is something Gauvin himself would be the first to admit you are only as good as the people behind you and the willingness of players to learn.

This year's bench was no exception as the most silent member of the coaching staff, Makayla Swallow, is not a parent but rather someone who has gone through the system and played at the collegiate level and was one of the keys.

Coach Botterill will tell you Swallow was one of the keys during practice and her assistance was invaluable.

But it was more than that. Female hockey for the most part is devoid of most of the politics of the male game. The girls want to be there and are eager to learn. It must be every coach's dream come true.

I suppose in the back of my head Cyndi Lauper's “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” is playing on an endless loop when I think about female hockey in Moose Jaw.

Further down in the Mavericks organization you had Dawn Froats who worked tirelessly to hold an open house as well as later a major tournament for female hockey.

Certainly there are a lot of factors in play here but it is truly a major step towards the future of Mavericks hockey in Moose Jaw.

For the Midget A Mavericks it all came down to one game this past Thursday night but I can tell you before the game I gave the edge 55 – 45 in the Mavericks favour.

I could see it in their development throughout the season and how their opponents the East Central Fillies had stayed static.

The Mavericks came to play and in that first period all it would have taken was one less crossbar and one less post and they had the cup.

If they had scored I personally do not believe the Fillies would have came back they don’t play come from behind hockey very well.

Despite the loss as I walked out onto the ice it was not a dejected Mavericks squad I saw but really a bunch of smiling, laughing and sometimes giggling girls at a season well done.