Road to the 2022 Esso Cup: Durham West Lightning

If you spend time with the Fraser Valley Rush, you’ll hear the team
repeat several phrases. “One to two, A to B,” represents where the team
wants to be and how they will get there; “40 for 40” represents the
importance of putting effort into every action on the ice, like
backchecking.

However, there is one phrase that fully represents the team at its
core: “Other teams are here to beat us, we’re just here to be us.” As
head coach Tony Lindsay describes it, the Rush want to focus on being
who they are as a team and the things they excel at in every game.

“We just got to focus on being the best version of ourselves,” Lindsay
says. “Our goal is to make sure that we have more fun than the other
team. We use this slogan before every game: party on the bench. It’s
got to be a party on the bench. We got to celebrate every success,
every blocked shot, every successful back check.”

That culture has guided the team to a lot of success this season, with
the Rush losing three games in league play on their way to becoming
B.C. Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) champions. They are also the first
team from British Columbia to ever defeat the Alberta champions to win
their way to the Esso Cup as Pacific champions.

Fraser Valley had a significant number of 17-year-old players on its
team last year. Coming into the 2021-22 season, the Rush were a very
young team with 13 new players, including several 14-year-olds. With
the new additions, it provided Lindsay with the opportunity to
establish a team culture that stressed the importance of being a good
teammate early in the season.

“Everybody’s contribution matters, even though it’s different,” he
says. “Everybody has to make a difference when they get on the ice. And
the players have bought into that.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the number of games played last
season, the Rush made the decision to front-end load the first six
weeks of their schedule to kickstart the season and help players get
recruitment exposure. At the final tournament of the six-week stretch,
the Rush faced adversity and went 1-3 at the Chinook Classic in
Calgary.

But the team took time to regroup and learn from the experience. Moving
forward, they were stronger as a team and it showed on the ice—at the
team’s next tournament, the USA-Canada Cup, the Rush went undefeated.

“That was the weekend I thought, ‘You know what, we got it,’” Lindsay
explains. “The girls learned how to respond to [adversity].”

That experience paid off when it was time for the playoffs. In the
BCEHL championship series, the Rush gave up a third-period lead and
dropped Game 1 to the Northern Capitals before rebounding to win the
final two games. At the Pacific Regional, the Edmonton Pandas pushed
the Rush to be at their best with two close back-and-forth games,
including an overtime victory for Fraser Valley in Game 1 of the
best-of-three series.

“Even when we fall behind, even when we faced adversity, the girls
responded well to that,” he says.

Overall, the Rush have cultivated an environment where everyone feels
the have a role, and no player’s role is bigger than another player.
That’s evident in how much the team loves being together at the
rink—when general manager Alain Wozney shows up to the rink 90 minutes
before puck drop, he’ll often see members of the team waiting to get
into the dressing room.

“[It’s] to the point that the rink is saying they’re coming too early,”
Wozney says. “That goes to show that they really love being together
and love coming to the rink and being a part of something special.”

HOW THEY GOT TO OKOTOKS

B.C. Elite Hockey League

Semifinal: defeated Thompson-Okanagan Lakers 2-0 (7-1, 4-1)
BCEHL championship: defeated Northern Capitals 2-1 (3-4, 3-2, 5-1)

Pacific Regional
Championship: defeated Edmonton Pandas 2-0 (4-3 OT, 3-2)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-T): 28-3-1 (1st in BCEHL)

Goals for: 140 (1st in BCEHL)

Goals against: 43 (1st in BCEHL)
Longest winning streak: 10 (Oct. 1 – Nov. 14)
Top 3 scorers:
– Aynsley D’Ottavio – 11G 44A 55P (1st in BCEHL)
– Vienna Rubin – 21G 26A 47P (2nd in BCEHL)
– Leah Barnard – 10G 26A 36P (6th in BCEHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 6-1

Goals for: 29

Goals against: 14
Top 3 scorers:
– Anna Diane McKee – 4G 6A 10P
– Leah Barnard – 5G 4A 9P
– Gillian Lapierre – 4G 4A 8P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2013 – Fraser Valley Phantom | fifth place | 1-4 | 7GF 16GA
2014 – Fraser Valley Phantom | fifth place | 1-4 | 12GF 15GA

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LEAH BARNARD

unbelievable in faceoffs … responsible defensively … dangerous offensively
… dependable and consistent

AYNSLEY D’OTTAVIO

creative playmaker … unique vision on the ice … excellent passer …
makes her teammates better

VIENNA RUBIN
strong skater … goes hard to the net … impressive one-timer … clutch
goal-scorer in big moments

UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Megan Breum – Mount Allison University
Aynsley D’Ottavio – Quinnipiac University
Jade Lore – University of Connecticut