After winning the Alberta College Athletic Conference women's hockey championship with the NAIT Ooks, Yorkton native Karli Reeve was lost for words.
"Words can't really describe how I feel," said Reeve, who is a 5-foot-7 defenceman. "I guess I'm speechless. It's a great feeling to be on top."
For Reeve, hockey is more than just a game and her championship is more than just a trophy.
"I've always loved playing hockey," she said. "I take it seriously and have worked hard to get to where I am. Winning a championship in my second year of college hockey means a lot. It shows that my hard work and dedication has paid off."
Reeve's road to college hockey started in Yorkton, where she played minor hockey up until peewee. She went on to finish her minor hockey career in Melville with the Fox FM female midget AAA Prairie Fire.
"I got into hockey when I was pretty young," said Reeve, who takes a graphic communications course at the Northern Albert Institute of Technology. "I later played in Melville because they have a AAA midget team. My time with the Prairie Fire really prepared me for college hockey. I learned a lot there and really took big steps in my game. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for my time there."
Championship series
The Ooks, who went 13-3-1 in the regular-season, squared off against the Red Deer College Queens in the best-of-five finals. The two clubs were quite familiar with each other going in as they met each other six times in the regular-season, with NAIT taking four of the matches. Not to mention, the two schools collided in the 2009-10 post-season. It was a close tilt, but NAIT came out on top in four games.
Reeve led the Ooks to a 3-0 win in the first game of the series on Thursday, February 28 at NAIT Arena in Edmonton, Alta. Following Jillian Mathieson putting NAIT out in front in the first period, Reeve potted two from the back to end to seal the victory.
In the second game of the series on Saturday, March 2 in Red Deer, Nicole Gregoire and Sherri Bowles lit the lamp to lift NAIT to a 2-1 win
Down by two in the series, the Queens edged the Ooks 3-2 in game 3 on Friday, March 8 in Edmonton.
The Ooks made no mistake in game 4, capturing the women's championship. Michelle Pochapsky played hero in the huge 4-1 win by netting a hat trick over the Queens.
The championship was not only a first for Reeve, but also for her secondary school.
"It's great for the school to win one," she said. "It has brought a lot of excitement to the program."
