From not knowing if there was even going to be a season to reaching the podium at the provincial championships.
That’s how Richmond Ringette’s U19 squad capped of its campaign earlier this month in Coquitlam.
Last fall there was plenty of uncertainty if there was enough players to ice a team. Richmond Ringette reached out to Delta and between the two associations they had 11 skaters and a goalie.
The small roster was depleted even further at provincials with one player being ineligible to play and another being sidelined in game two with a concussion. Still, Richmond more than held its own — going 2-2 in round-robin play that included wins over Port Coquitlam (6-3) and Prince George (3-2).
A hard-fought 4-2 semi-final loss to eventual champion Kelowna set the stage for the bronze medal game where Richmond defeated Vernon 5-2.
“I know if we had all our players participating in this provincial championship we would’ve had a good chance to win. At the end we ran out of gas,” said proud head coach George Heinrich.
The team included: Alex Bauer, Elise Piovesan, Ellie Ehling, Jade Campbell, Keanna Boyle, Megan Heinrich (captain), Melissa Stevens, Nicole Sparrow (captain), Regan Burrows, Samy Friesen (captain), Sophie Sihoe and Jordan Williams (goalie).
Nicole Heinrich served as an assistant coach and Doramy Ehling was the team manager.
