Pahl heading to U18 camp

By Justin Seward
Redcliff’s Alli Pahl and her Team South Black went undefeated through the Alberta Challenge Cup on route to winning the tournament with a 1-0 nailbiting win over Team South White in the final in Olds earlier this month.
Pahl  was voted on as an assistant captain and had an assist on the gold medal  winning goal, ending the event with three assists in five games.
“We just tried to stay calm at all times, especially in the final,” said Pahl.
“I know for sure everyone was nervous and excited at the same time. The great coaching definitely helped  with calming us down and getting us pumped when we needed to be.”
Pahl felt her team  outplayed Team South White earlier in the tournament when they tied them but did not get enough quality shots on their goalie and knew more rubber had to be directed at their net if they were to win the championship.
“In the final we made sure we got all the pucks to the net and made the simple plays,” said Pahl. “They were telling us defencemen, ‘don’t mess with the puck, just keep it going up ice and simple plays.’”
She added over the course of the four days she took on a greater leadership role and for that she earned a spot on the Alberta U16 female team.
“It’s definitely a great step forward,” said Pahl. “That was my goal coming into this tournament was to make the U16 team and it worked out great.” According to her, the  strengths that got her a phone call was her ability to use the body more, not focusing on the puck in one-on-one situations and improvement with her puck moving skills.
Sixty girls will compete  in the second stage of development and will vie for  spots at the U18 level. The camp includes on and off-ice training sessions and will take place in Camrose from June 29- July 2.