Mom, this is where I want to go, it was just the atmosphere and how amazing the city was. It’ s so close to home. My mom will be able to make it to my games and I love having my mom at my games
ST. MARY’ S FLAMES
Mom, this is where I want to go, it was just the atmosphere and how amazing the city was. It’ s so close to home. My mom will be able to make it to my games and I love having my mom at my games
State for a visit last year that it was where her future lies.“ I went down with my mom to visit and as soon as I walked on campus I said‘ Mom, this is where I want to go,’” she said.“ It was just the atmosphere and how amazing the city was. It’ s so close to home. My mom will be able to make it to my games and I love having my mom at my games.“[ Bemidji ] is a small city which I thought I would never want because I’ m a Chicago kid and I’ m big city everything. But when I got there everyone knew who the hockey girls were and that just seemed like the place I wanted to be. The school is amazing and the girls on the team and the coaches just made me feel so welcome.” Cheveldayoff is the latest in a long line of current and former St. Mary’ s players who have been recruited by Canadian and U. S. college teams since the school’ s prep program was established six years ago. A total of 23 Flames players have signed on to play collegiate hockey in that time including Cheveldayoff and current teammates Logan Angers( Quinnipiac) Hailey Cloutier( Windsor), Hailey Karbonik( North Dakota), Karlee Mazor( UBC), Ashley McFadden( Penn State), Holly Reuther( Calgary) and K. K. Thiessen( Mercyhurst). In the last three years alone, the program has placed at least one player at an Ivy League school each year. Bumstead says while St. Mary’ s has been blessed with a wealth of talent during that time, he believes it’ s a credit to all the work that has been invested in the program by the players, coaches and the school’ s support staff.
120 GAME ON 2016- 17 ROSTER DEADLINE EDITION
“ We try to run our program like a college team,” he says.“ We practice four days a week. We also have cardio in the morning before school. And then we play a 50-game schedule. At the same time the girls have to keep their marks up. They’ ll sometimes write exams when we’ re on the road and they have to get homework done too.“ I think a lot of the reason these girls( move on to the college ranks) is these schools realize that not only are they good hockey players, they’ re academically going to be sound and be good students for those schools.” This season is the first year for the Flames prep program as a member of the Canadian School Sport Hockey League, where they are competing against the likes of the Okanagan Hockey Academy, Edge School and the Notre Dame Hounds. Despite having one of the youngest teams in the league with just five Grade 12 players, the Flames have managed to hold their own. They had an 8-6-1 record after 15 league games and were just five points out of top spot in the CSSHL’ s female prep division.
“ We’ re not really surprised,” Cheveldayoff says of the team’ s early success.“( Coach Bumstead) is always trying to bring out our potential on the ice. And the Grade 12s all make us feel like equals. I think team chemistry’ s been very important for us. We get along together on the ice and the communication is great.” n
Winnipeg hockey fans can see Lexi Cheveldayoff and her St. Mary’ s teammates in action from March 16-19, 2017, as the Flames play host to the Female World Sport School Challenge at MTS Iceplex.