Edge School - Hard Work Pays-Off For Sowchuk

January 20, 2012
Posted in Alberta Edition, Female, Minor

By Laurence Heinen /

After helping Canada win the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Hockey Championship, Erika Sowchuk didn’t want to take off her gold medal.

“I can’t even describe the feeling,” said Sowchuk, who had a goal and an assist in five games for Canada at the tournament that was held from Dec. 31, 2011 to Jan 7, 2012 in Prerov and Zlin, Czech Republic. “I just keep on looking at it. Just knowing that all my hard work and stuff has paid off, it’s pretty cool.”

The Grade 12 Edge School student summed up the experience of playing at the international event as unbelievable.

“It was a dream come true for me to be able to represent my country and play in an international tournament like that,” said Sowchuk, a forward on the Edge Mountaineers girls prep squad. “It was just an overall experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. The team, we were all really tight. We all got along really well, which I think definitely showed on the ice.”

Her Mountaineers head coach Scott Fukami explained that Sowchuk was the first ever Edge student to crack the lineup of the national women’s under-18 team.

“We are very proud to have Erika as an Edge student and as a member of our girls prep team,” Fukami said. “Erika is the epitome of hard work, dedication, and desire, both on and off of the ice. Erika is an excellent role model for Edge students and female hockey players. We look forward to Erika’s future success in hockey.”

Canada opened the tournament in Prerov on Dec. 31 with a convincing 13-1 win over Switzerland. In addition to recording an assist, Sowchuk won 13-of-19 faceoffs that she took and finished with a plus-three rating.

“I just wanted to contribute to helping Canada win as much as I could,” said Sowchuk, who prides herself in her ability to win the majority of the faceoff she takes. “I work on it in practice a lot, because it’s something that’s really important to get that possession off the draw.”

Canada then beat Germany 6-0 on New Year’s Day before finishing the preliminary round with a 7-0 drubbing of Finland on Jan. 3.

“We were in a good position going into the semifinals,” Sowchuk said. “We had three wins under our belts. That gave us some confidence and helped us.”

All of Canada’s preliminary round games were played in Prerov and Sowchuk said Canada received great support from the crowd.

“We were getting huge crowds out to our game,” she said. “We got 2,300 fans out for one game. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but for female hockey, that’s a big crowd. That’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of. It was a great atmosphere. All the Czech people were cheering for us. There was a drummer in the stands and they were chanting ‘Go Canada Go’. It was really loud in there.”

In semifinal action on Jan. 6 in Zlin, Canada downed Sweden 7-0 to advance to the championship game.

Sowchuk recorded her first-ever international goal in the first period to put Canada up 2-0. She gave credit to her linemates Emily Clark and Taylor Woods for their hard work on the shift.

“They were battling in the corner and happened to get the puck out to me,” Sowchuk said. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and I was able to put it in. It was pretty special for sure. It’s almost like going back to Timbits and scoring your first goal.”

In the final, goalie Emerance Maschmeyer stopped all 28 shots she faced to backstop Canada to a 3-0 win over the United States.

“They had a lot of chances to score,” Sowchuk recalled. “Emerance played amazing. She stood on her head. She was definitely a huge reason we won that game.”

As time ticked down on the clock, Sowchuk and her teammates were eagerly awaiting the final buzzer so they could get on the ice to celebrate their victory.

“The last 10 seconds, we were counting it down,” Sowchuk said. “Then there was a whistle with three seconds left in the game. We were all half jumped over the boards and we all had to get back. Then the buzzer went and we all skated out, threw our gloves up in the air and tackled the goalie.”

What made it even more special was the fact that her parents Audrine and Jerry Sowchuk were in stands along with her older brothers Garret and Graeme.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without them, so to have them there and supporting me, I’m happy that they were able to come over and that they were able to see that experience,” she said.

Sowchuk didn’t have much time to rest once she returned home as she and her Edge teammates travelled to Minnesota four five games in three days between Jan. 13 to 15.

The Edge girls prep squad lost 5-3 to the National Sports Academy and 7-6 to the Washington Pride on Jan. 13, before suffering a 2-1 setback to the North American Hockey Academy and a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Select the next day. The Mountaineers then finished a disappointing weekend with a 1-0 loss to the Boston Shamrocks on Jan. 15 and saw their record in the Junior Women’s Hockey League fall to 8-9-5.

Despite the disappointing weekend, Sowchuk still has confidence the Mountaineers can get their revenge when they host a series of JWHL games featuring teams from both the East and West Divisions from Feb. 2 to 5.

“We’re a younger team, but we have a lot of potential,” Sowchuk said.

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