A multi-sport female from tiny Campbell’s Creek is quickly becoming one of the top puckstoppers in the province.
Madison Marche, a 17-year-old Level 3 student at Piccadilly Central High, has posted a 12-0 record between the pipes for the league-leading Western Warriors in the provincial AAA midget female hockey league.
The five-foot-three goalie has only been patrolling the crease in provincial female hockey circles for four years.
She started out as a player looking to score goals, but five years ago her team didn’t have anybody to strap on the pads for a provincial tournament in Deer Lake so she decided to accept the challenge and her team ended up winning a gold medal.
“I hate saying no to people. I’m pretty passive,” she said with a hearty chuckle.
The Warriors are happy to have her in the crease. She’s the team’s only goalie, but a back-up is expected to be secured for when the Warriors resume play after the Christmas holidays.
Goalies are expected to steal games for their team.
They are expected to be the team’s best player on any given night.
When things go awry from time to time, often the finger is pointed at the person in the crease.
“There’s definitely a lot of pressure and it doesn’t help that I’m the only goalie, but to win games it makes you feel pretty good, but to lose games that’s a little bit of a struggle because I blame it on myself most times,” Marche said.
Her team has been very supportive of her as she works hard to find her comfort zone in the crease over the last couple of years.
Her coach, Colin Carroll, is lucky to have a girl who not only has a knack for stopping pucks, but has a strong work ethic and a positive attitude that seems to permeate throughout the talented group of girls she calls teammates.
“She loves to play and works hard and those are two keys for me,” he said.
She can stop pucks with the best in the league, but coach Carroll believes Marche also brings a great attitude to the rink and the rest of the girls seem to feed off it.
“She’s pretty quiet, but she’s always smiling so that always makes it positive for all the players,” Carroll said. “She doesn’t let anything get to her. She just likes to come out and try her best, and her best is well above average.”
She may be a late bloomer when it comes to puckstoppers, but she’s by no means looking out of place in a league that boasts the top female players in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“If she had to start way back in the day I can just imagine how good she be now. She probably wouldn’t be here playing,” he said.
Marche plans on kicking pucks aside for as long as she can.
A gig with St. Francis Xavier X-Women of the Atlantic University Sport varsity women’s hockey league after she graduates from high school is a possibility.
She is looking at attending St. F. X. in the fall of 2018 with a desire to study kinesiology and down the road could very well look at medical school.
No matter what the future holds, Marche can look back on her youth knowing she lived an active life by trying her hand in a number of sports, from volleyball to track and field, and made a lot of great friends along the way.
“It makes me feel good and it’s good for social interaction which is the good part,” she said.
A smooth ride
Western 5 vs Eastern 1
Western: Brooklyn Childs 3, Becky Reid, Jolena Gillard, Sarah Gillard
Eastern: Desiree Snook
Western 10 vs TriPen 1
Western: Becky Reid 5, Jolena Gillard 3, Brooklyn Childs, Sarah White
TriPen: Kathy Senior
Western 8 vs Central 2
Western: Jolena Gillard 4, Brooklyn Childs g, Sarah White, Emma Reid,
Central: Myra Penton, Brianne Blake
Western 6 vs TriPen 1
Western: Jolena Gillard 2, Sarah White, Brooklyn Childs, MacKenzie Curran, Hannah Gillam
TriPen: Sam Linthorne
