The Sanford Sabres girls’ high school hockey team is again putting up a banner year.
The Sabres are in first place in Division 2 of the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League (MWHSHL) with a record of 17-1. This strong team is the reigning Division 2 champions from last season when they finished atop the division and won the championship banner.
Johnny Bestland heads coaches the well-rounded team, with each member providing value and contributing on and off the ice.
Mikalah Grant, Halle Penner, and Meredith Wiebe lead the team in scoring. The team also gets very strong goaltending from its tandem of Brooke Larson and Ainesleigh Bourre, who rank one and two in the goaltending stats with a .97 and 1.02 goals-against average, respectively.
On Feb. 2, the MWHSL hosted its annual Vets and All-Star games. Sanford was well-represented on the day as five players from the Sabres lineup competed at the event in: Ainesleigh Bourre and Kaitlyn Saley, who played for the Vets. And then Anjali Zuk, Mikalah Grant, and Meredith Wiebe were on the Jets (All Stars). Sanford was also selected to have its coaches participate, so Haley Bound and Alyssa Kaminski coached the Jets team.
The Sabres will now continue league play in their high school hockey league and then will be heading to Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the end of February to challenge its game against some U19 AAA calibre teams, as it will be a good preparation for the team ahead of making another championship run.
