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![\"Darryl](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4128174_web1_20260405_U18F_Sharks_vs_Ice_3152.JPG_1L.jpg\")
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Darryl Gershman photo<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Ice defeated Saskatchewan\u2019s Battlefords Sharks 4-3 in game 3 to win the Hockey Canada Western Women\u2019s U18 Championship, Sunday.<\/p>\n
Their confidence paid off. This past Sunday, the Ice outlasted Saskatchewan\u2019s Battlefords Sharks 4-3 in a winner-take-all Game 3 inside the Varsity View Sportsplex to claim the Esso Cup West Regionals crown.<\/p>\n
The last time a Manitoba team won the Western Regionals was back in 2012. That year, the Pembina Valley Hawks went on to win the Canadian championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it had been quite some time, but I didn\u2019t realize it was that long. I thought it had maybe been seven or eight years,\u201d said Ice forward Cassandra Carvalho.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost the regional with a few girls on the team two years ago so getting to redeem ourselves there and finally getting Manitoba the recognition it deserves at nationals now is an honour.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ice topped the Manitoba Female Hockey League with a 25-2-0-1 record en route to winning the provincial title. Sunday\u2019s victory will now send them to the Esso Cup \u2014 the Canadian U18 Club Championship \u2014 in Dieppe, New Brunswick (April 19-25).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went up against the Winnipeg Avros, the Eastman Selects, the Battlefords Sharks and they are all teams that legitimately could\u2019ve been at the Esso Cup. They\u2019re all very good teams,\u201d said Ice head coach Eugene Kaminsky.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we know the teams we\u2019re going up against are of a similar calibre so we don\u2019t feel we\u2019re in over our head.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ice captured the opening game of the series 4-2 before the Sharks bounced back in a big way in Game 2 with a 4-1 win. In Game 3, the score was tied 3-3 with six minutes left in the third when Winnipeg forward Callie Adams achieved hero status and scored the series winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a relief. It was a really huge moment for Callie Adams,\u201d said Carvalho, who will play hockey at the University of British Columbia in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember jumping on top of her. It was so exciting, and obviously, being in a tight, tight situation is scary. So, getting that helped us seal the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
They did everything in their power to ensure they didn\u2019t surrender an equalizer in the final minutes. Ice goalie Gina Plett did her part by stopping 35 shots to be named the player of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot having to go to a three-on-three overtime I think saved all of us as we were dying and trying to catch our breaths,\u201d said Teixeira, who will take her talents to the University of Regina next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce Callie scored that, I think we were all a little nervous \u2014 how could you not be? So, I was just being loud on the bench saying \u2018Hey, no one goes out there and plays scared. Don\u2019t take any risks. Go out there and have fun. We have six minutes left until we make history.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Battlefords only lost one game in regulation throughout the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can go through every series and different players stepped up to be the difference. We didn\u2019t rely on one player, it was a full team effort,\u201d Kaminsky said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cPeople would argue that Battlefords probably had some top end players and had some Div. I commits that played for them, but we played as a team\u2026 As clich\u00e9 as it is, we are a full team and that\u2019s what makes them special.\u201d<\/p>\n The Esso Cup features five regional champions from across the country plus the tournament host \u2014 the Moncton Rockets. The Ice, who were established in 2018, are the new kids on the block, but they\u2019re hopeful they can make a name for themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever happens, I\u2019m super proud of this group,\u201d said Teixeira.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve done so much already and proved ourselves, but we\u2019re going to keep striving here at the end of the runway.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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