Kootenay trio make Canada Games grade
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By Bruce Fuhr,
The Nelson Daily Sports
While friends were chilling on the beach during the summer Aimee DiBella was in the gym working the weights.
While those same friends chumming with others the 5’7” Team B.C. product was running the highways between Nelson and Taghum.
But while DiBella’s buddies are shoveling snow in February, the hockey protégé will be flying across the country to represent the province at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax.
DiBella earned one of the spots on the 20 spot on the Team B.C. U18 squad following a successful university women’s hockey tournament Sunday in Vancouver.
“I was pretty excited when I heard I made the team,” DiBella told The Nelson Daily from her parent’s home in Taghum. “I was pretty happy that all the work (training) I did during the summer all paid off and now I’m going to Halifax.”
DiBella, who hopes to land an American College scholarship next year, won’t be making the eight-hour flight alone. Joining the puck-carrying rearguard is former Kootenay Wildcat teammate Ella Matteucci of Fruitvale and current player Daley Oddy of Cranbrook. Matteucci is currently playing at Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan.
Twenty-eight players were invited to the final evaluation camp of the program.
B.C. Hockey evaluators and coaches used the four-team University of B.C. University Women’s T-Bird Invitational as a gauge to select the final squad.
DiBella, in Grade 11 at L.V. Rogers High School in Nelson, didn’t play in the opening contest, a 1-0 Team B.C. victory over host UBC Thunderbirds. With eight defenceman on the team two sat out every game to give the remaining players an equal opportunity to showcase their talents.
DiBella returned to face Carleton. However, Team B.C. came out on the wrong end of a 4-0 score.
In the final game of the round robin draw, Team B.C. rebounded to double University of Toronto 4-2. The result advanced Team B.C. to the tourney final against Carleton.
This time the Ottawa-based university saw a different Team B.C. squad, which was able to gain some revenge from the earlier defeat. Team B.C. won the title with a 3-2 victory in double shootout.
“I guess all my training, weight lifting and working on my cardio, paid off in the end,” DiBella explained. “Some times I didn’t want to go but I knew I had to.”
DiBella, 15, said Team B.C. would get together for a pre-Games training camp prior to the tournament.
In the mean time DiBella, along with Oddy, returns to the club team, the Kootenay Wildcats. The squad plays in the B.C. Hockey Female AAA League.
First games are this weekend when Kootenay travels to Prince George to face the Cougars.
“The (Wildcats) team is going to be good this season so I’m excited to be back,” DiBella, finishing last year with five goals and seven assists for the Cats, said.
Also good knowing that in her back pocket is a Team B.C. berth that is going to make a good season even better.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
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