The Pembina Valley Hawks Female U18 AAA team opened their Manitoba Female U18 AAA Hockey League season with three games over the weekend, showing improvement despite coming up short in each outing.
The Hawks began their schedule Friday night in Portage la Prairie with a 3–1 loss to the Central Plains Capitals. After falling behind by two in the first period, Bree Pearce put Pembina Valley on the board with a power-play goal assisted by Ella Victor. Goaltender Madison Froese made 34 saves in the effort and kept the Hawks within reach throughout the contest.
On Saturday, the Hawks faced the Winnipeg Avros at Seven Oaks Arena and dropped an 8–0 decision. The Avros struck three times in the opening frame and added four more in the second to take control of the game. Despite the lopsided score, Pembina Valley showed flashes of strong defensive positioning and improved puck movement through the neutral zone. Hannah Bannister handled goaltending duties, turning aside 23 shots in the loss.
Pembina Valley closed out the weekend on home ice Sunday afternoon in Morden with a 4–2 loss to the Interlake Lightning. Sophia Cox opened the scoring in the first period with help from Casey O’Brien and Mia Brass, while Leah Klaassen added a second-period goal assisted by Pearce and Delaney Darby. Froese made another 23 saves in the Hawks’ most competitive game of the weekend as the team generated several quality scoring chances late in regulation.
The Hawks (0–3–0) will continue regular-season play with a pair of home games this weekend. They welcome the Winnipeg Ice Saturday then host Westman Sunday afternoon.
