St. Albert Gazette – October 21, 2009

By Jeff Hansen

In their second season together with the Edmonton WAM!, power forward Chelsea Stone and sniper Ashley Peters are shooting for gold after settling for silver at the 2009 National Ringette League (NRL) championship.

"We’re using that to motivate us because WAM! has always been on top," said Peters, a resident of Cardiff Echoes, after tallying twice in Saturday’s 9-7 NRL win over the Fraser Valley Avalanche in front of an announced crowd of 165 at Performance Arena.

In the NRL (19-plus) tournament final, Peters opened the scoring as the WAM! fell 4-1 to the reigning national champion Cambridge Turbos at Charlottetown, P.E.I.

"We have something to prove this year," said Stone, a St. Albert ringette product who racked up four goals and two assists as the WAM! swept the Avalanche in the three-game weekend series.

Stone and Peters are former Edmonton Edge standouts who hooked up with their WAM! rivals after the Edge ceased operations following a fifth place result at the 2008 nationals at St. Albert.

"It was an interesting feeling playing with WAM!," said Peters, the WAM! player of the game with two assists in the 6-2 semifinal win over the Montreal Mission. "At nationals we definitely came together as a family. We were one unit. It was a lot of fun."

Stone, 24, the top point producer for the WAM! in league play with 26 goals and 46 points in 20 games, also scored in the semifinal. The 31st-ranked scorer in the NRL enjoyed a banner season as the finalist for the best centre/forward award. The physically imposing rugby player was beat out by Julie Blanchette of the Mission, the NRL’s second overall scorer with 54 goals and 134 points in 31 games.

"It was a huge honour to be nominated," said Stone, a student teacher at Bellerose Composite High School who potted the WAM!’s first goal of the season. "We have a lot of great players on the team so scoring that many goals was a huge bonus. I worked hard and tried to stay in shape and did a little bit of off-ice stuff and that really helped me become a better player."

Despite her offensive prowess, Stone was surprising left off the list of 42 players invited to Team Canada’s selection camp in August for the 2010 world championship in Finland.

"I was pretty disappointed, but that’s just part of the sport. I have to take it that it’s one person’s opinion. I know how good I am," said Stone, the WAM!’s best player Saturday with two Gretzky-like goals and two assists. "My teammates really supported me. There is an appeal process and some of them helped me write letters. I had huge support from people I really respect, which really helped. It gives me more confidence this year. I have something to prove and I think a few of the girls have a lot to prove too."

Peters, 22, was invited to the tryouts in Ottawa but was sidelined while recovering from another surgery to repair a tender right shoulder. Even though she was a no show, the leading scorer for Canada at the 2007 worlds with 12 goals in four games advanced to the next phase of tryouts in early January with 33 other players, including WAM! teammates Barb Bautista, Keely Brown and Jen Hartley.

"If I made the team again it would be a huge accomplishment," Peters said. "I always used to say that it’s something I wanted to do personally, but now that I’ve been there I want to help all the other girls. After that overwhelming overtime loss last time [5-4 to Finland in the final at Ottawa], it’s not just about getting back at the Fins, it’s wanting to do it for the girls that have been there for so long so they can go out on that gold medal win."

In a bold move Peters is playing defence for the WAM! but will challenge for a spot at forward on Team Canada. As the second youngest player on Canada’s roster at worlds, she tied for sixth in tournament points with a team-high 18.

"I’m a little worried about the transition but I’m hoping that it will be a success," said Peters, who scored 14 goals and added 22 assists in 19 games in her 2008/09 WAM! debut. "Skill-wise I don’t know if there is much more than I can grow with. What I am now is what I’m going to be and I have to use that skill to my advantage, like being smarter and not just being the run-and-gun young kid that just wants to score all the time."

With a WAM! player shortage on defence, Peters volunteered to shift to the back end.

"It’s actually a lot of fun. I haven’t played defence since I was 18," said Peters, who carved up the Avalanche with a deadly combination of skill and speed for two highlight-reel goals. "I like it on defence. Some players forget about you so you get to streak up the ice and all of a sudden there is no one on you and you have chances to score."

 

Photo by: BEN LEMPHERS/St. Albert Gazette - HOT SHOT — Chelsea Stone of St. Albert gets a shot away against Fraser Valley Avalanche netminder Shannon Anderson in Saturday’s 9-7 win by the Edmonton WAM! at Performance Arena. Stone scored twice and added two assists. In three National Ringette League games last weekend she netted four goals.