Bringing a strong work ethic to the rink every day.
Motivating teammates to push themselves to the limit.
Encouraging a positive atmosphere among the group regardless of what the scoreboard says.
Being an offensive catalyst.
These are some of the must-dos Gia Caul focuses her energy on as the captain of the Western Warriors of the provincial female AAA bantam hockey league.
The Warriors, led by their 14-year-old captain from Stephenville, opened the season by losing 3-0 to the defending champion Eastern Ice Breakers in the gold-medal showdown at the first tournament of the season this past weekend at Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium in Grand Falls-Windsor.
“It’s a big role being the leader of the team,” Caul said Monday.
Caul likes how the team has meshed in the early going, believing there is a good mix of skill among a group that has three rookies playing together and putting up their fair share of points in the first tournament.
It’s no secret that western teams form a rivalry with the east coast teams when it comes to provincial leagues, and it’s no different at the female AAA bantam level.
Caul remembers the disappointment of losing to Eastern in the final last winter.
She admits this season the Warriors are eager to exact some revenge and believes her side has a group working together to make it happen this season.
“There’s no I in team. We have to work together. There’s five people on the ice,” she said.
The Western Warriors had to settle for silver at the kickoff tournament for the provincial female AAA bantam hockey league after losing 3-0 to the Ice Breakers Sunday at Joe Byrne Memorial.
The Warriors finished round-robin play with a 2-1 record to earn a berth in the final, including a 3-1 win over the Ice Breakers with Emma Joan Major, Alison Badcock and Alex Kidd providing the goals.
The Warriors, led by a four-goal performance by Caul, registered a 12-4 win over the Central Ice Pak to get the team’s second win of the weekend.
Emma Joan Major had a three-goal game for the Warriors, while single tallies were added by Alex Kidd, Sophia Munden, Rebecca Wiseman, Kailey Gaudon and Hailey Gibbons.
The Warriors lost 4-1 to TriPen in its other round-robin game, with Rebecca Wiseman the lone goal scorer for the western side.
Tournament scores
Gold-medal game
Eastern Ice Breakers 3, Western Warriors 0
Round-robin
TriPen 2, Central 1
Western 3, Eastern 1
Western 12, Central 4
Eastern 3, TriPen 0
Eastern 4, Central 0
TriPen 4, Western 1
