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Battlefords Sharks see two commit to University hockey programs

Jan 6, 2019 | 3:46 PM

The Battlefords AAA Sharks are on pace for one of their best seasons in franchise history. 

Sitting fourth overall in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League (SFMAAAHL) standings, the Sharks have earned 28 points through their first 22 games this season. A big reason for the team’s success has been the play of two of their leaders in third-year forwards Ali Aitken and Ensley Fendelet, each of whom recently committed to post-secondary hockey opportunities.

Ali Aitken

For Aitken, the journey to where she is today, committed to join the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns for the 2019-20 season, has been years in the making and an absolute dream come true.

“I’ve never felt more thankful for an opportunity,” she said, adding she is “excited for my new journey to begin.” 

First taking to the ice at age the age of two, it wasn’t long until Aitken officially kicked off her hockey career. She joined her older brother’s initiation team at around four while her brother was closer to seven.

“I was not really doing much other than cherry picking at the other end and laying down on the ice, as any other kid would be at that age, but I knew I always loved being on an ice surface even at that age,” Aitken said of her earliest hockey memories.

It’s been a long time since then for Aitken, now in her third season with the Sharks and first as the team’s captain. Aitken leads the Sharks in scoring, setting the offensive pace for the club this season with a team-leading 10 goals, 15 assists and 25 points with just a handful of games remaining.

While the offensive totals stand out, Aitken’s skill alone was not what earned her the C on her sweater, just ask her teammate, Ensley Fendelet.

“Ali is very determined and hardworking,” Fendelet said. “She’s always there for the team to encourage everyone to do better. I know in [Aitken’s] new opportunities with Lethbridge she is going to do great things.”

At just 17-years-old, Aitken has increased her point production over each of her first two seasons and looks primed to do so again, with her 25 points through 22 games already tying her previous career-high set last season over 28 games.

Head coach Kelsey Harder said she’s “not at all surprised” with what Aitken has been able to do this season offensively, with the forward currently sitting fifth in league scoring, noting what really sets the Brock, Sask., product apart is her laser-like ability to shoot the puck.

“Ali is a very intelligent player with the skill set required to make a big impact on games,” Harder said. “She plays heads up and is able to make plays but her biggest asset is her shot; she has one of the quickest, hardest releases I have seen in the female game.”

That shot, according to Aitken, was developed through years of hard work and motivation to get better.

“I developed my shot by being a competitive person,” Aitken said. “Once I get started with something I can’t leave it alone. I have always had this drive.

Living in a small town, the rink was open 24/7, she recalled “staying down there until midnight with my brother, he’d be tossing me pucks and I’d be working on my release.”

Ensley Fendelet

A fast-skating and hardworking player who plays from the defensive side of the puck. 

That is how Ensley Fendelet is described by her coach.

“Ensley’s skill set makes her arguably the most tenacious forechecker in the league and one of our best penalty killers,” Harder said.

While she may be a relentless thorn in the side of opposing teams on the ice on a nightly basis, off the ice, Fendelet is a complete 180. 

She talked with great gratitude about the opportunity that awaits her next season with the Minot State University hockey program.

“I was very excited and grateful for the opportunity [to commit] because not everyone gets the opportunity to play hockey after high school,” she said. “Knowing that Minot is such a great program and school I am beyond excited to get things started there next season.”

A fourth-year player in the SFMAAAHL, the 17-year-old began her career in 2015-16 with the Prince Albert Bears before joining the Sharks the following year.

Over her time in the Battlefords, Fendelet has established herself as an invaluable piece of the team, not just with her play on the ice, but the way she has conducted herself away from the rink as well. This is partly why she was named the Sharks’ Most Dedicated Player last season.

“I just believe that [with] any opportunity you are given, you should always work your hardest and push the people around you to do better,” Fendelet said. “Because in the end, it’s your whole team working together, not just yourself.”

The Saskatoon product said the key to her motivation, both of others and herself, is to always keep the encouragement auspicious in nature.

“Positivity is a huge thing off and on the ice,” Fendelet said. “Being positive helps encourage your team to do better and being positive to yourself helps build confidence.”

That positive outlook and love for the team-building aspect of the game are what drew Fendelet to hockey in the first place. Her first year of initiation was over a decade ago when the forward was just seven-years-old.

“I knew hockey was something I wanted to be in my life forever when I started to build great friendships with the people around me and started to learn lessons about everyday life,” she said.

Fendelet’s natural love of the game and obvious passion for helping others are traits not lost on her teammates either, per captain Aitken.

“Ensley has always been a person with a heart,” Aitken said. “She is easily one of the hardest working girls on the team. She’s always been a great leader having girls back when needed and even a better friend off [the] ice.”

 

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1