Regina Rebels head into Esso Cup with confidence

The Regina Rebels are back at the Esso Cup – and this time they’re looking to raise the trophy.

The under-18 female AAA hockey team is back at the Canadian championship tournament for a second straight year after winning the Western regionals. The Rebels won bronze at the last Esso Cup.

“We have a lot of our depth on our team. We were expecting to do pretty good this year and we followed through with what we were hoping to do,” said defenceman and co-captain Brooklyn Nimegeers. “We’re a really good team and I’m excited to see how we do again.”

This year’s event is in Vernon, B.C. and runs from Sunday through April 27.

The Rebels finished at the top of the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League standings with a 26-3-1-0 record with forward Stryker Zablocki leading the league with 65 points in 27 games. Berlin Lolacher and Nimegeers were tied for fourth in league scoring with 40 points.

The Rebels swept Notre Dame in the league finals and then swept the Winnipeg Ice to punch their ticket to the tournament.

The Regina Rebels feel confident heading into the Esso Cup. (Regina Rebels/Submitted)

That came even after the Rebels dealt with a major coaching change at the end of their regular season.

Head coach Mike Merk was suspended indefinitely with one regular-season game left and Kim Perepeluk was brought in to be the team’s interim head coach. According to the Rebels’ website, Perepeluk was the team’s head coach from 2011 to ’15. He coached the Rebels to a fourth-place finish at the 2013 Esso Cup.

“The kids change (and) the game changes. I think it’s exciting coming in at this time of the year. It was just getting to know the kids and certainly adjusting a few things,” Perepeluk said. “We knew for the most part we would be facing much better teams moving forward.

“I never thought I would coach again but when Hockey Regina reached out and with all the coaches leaving the team, they didn’t have a coach so that’s why I asked a few people in the community if they would like to help. They’ve all went in and helped and Hockey Regina has been very supportive.

“The girls have been very receptive if you look at their record and the successes we have had. It has been a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed it. It took a little while to get back into the swing of things.”

Nimegeers said the players were able to adjust and support each other as they went through the late-season coaching change.

“We had the same team we started with before the coaches were changed so we had the same mindset and goals as before,” Nimegeers said.

Perepeluk said it’s a credit to the leadership group that they were able to navigate the challenges they had to face.

“They’ve been very good and mature young girls. I think ultimately you play for the team and no one is bigger than that,” Perepeluk said. “I think that’s what they have done – they are good leaders and have been very good in the dressing room.

“They lead by work ethic and I think if you have those tendencies, everyone follows and I think that’s a credit to the whole group.”

The Rebels will open up their Esso Cup with a game against the Ontario region winners, the North York Storm.

“It’s so exciting. We have spent our whole year leading up to this. I definitely think we’re ready and we’re going in with a lot of confidence,” Nimegeers said.