The local players that won Border City hearts and votes for this year’s Chevy Cup win is now Alberta’s team of the year. Hockey Alberta notes the Lloydminster Female U13 Blazers efforts to raise awareness on inclusive arenas for persons with disabilities.
The $100,000 prize from Chevrolet was donated to Inclusion Lloydminster and a matching $100,000 was also contributed by local dealership Ulmer Chevrolet for inclusion efforts.
The energy in the U13 team remains evident since they first walked into the Goat’s studios to talk about their run for the Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup.
Ella Wutzke who was captain when they brought the Chevy celebrations to Lloydminster is reliving the emotions among the players now that they are Alberta’s team of the year.
“You feel very special. You are like one in three thousand. You could have won all your games or lost all your games, but we were chosen to be the one, because we won the Good Deeds Cup and raised awareness to make our rinks more inclusive.”
Head coach Justin Tindall in reflecting on the year they have had, looks ahead at what it may take to better last season’s efforts.
“I don’t know if it can be topped, but the one thing I’ve said to other coaches in this community or even across the province or in interviews I have done in bigger centres – you know if anybody wants the cheat codes like if they want our playbook, reach out. We are willing to help, especially if we think the cause is strong like ours was. We will throw our weight behind a good cause just like others did for us.”
The Blazers became the first all-girls team to win the Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup earlier this year. In April, Canadian hockey stars Caroline Ouellete, Sarah Nurse and Tyler McGregor headlined the dignitaries who came to Lloydminster to congratulate the U13 team with the festivities being aired on Hockey Night in Canada.
The winning money is going towards upgrades at existing arenas and as well the proposed Lloydminster Place slated for completion in 2025.