HANLEY—The Saskatoon Stars outshone and snuffed out the Calgary Fire to win the Mac’s AAA Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary Jan. 1.
Opening scoring for the Stars in the tourney final was Hanley’s Kianna Dietz, who scored with 1:20 left in the first period of the championship game that was played at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Stars beat the Fire 4-2, to win the tournament for the first time since 2010.
The Stars were undefeated in the tournament, which started Dec. 26, winning their first four games of round-robin action and beating the St. Albert Slash 5-2 in the New Year’s Eve semi-final.
Kianna’s parents Kelly and Kim Dietz were in Calgary for the tournament, but her family and friends back home in Hanley were able to watch the finals that were televised by Shaw.
The Saskatoon Stars is an AAA team that showcases some of the best midget-aged female hockey players in the Saskatoon area. The team plays in the eight-team Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey.
This is Kianna’s first year in the league. This season, Kianna, 15, could have played as a second year bantam player with the Saskatoon Comets, however, her mom Kim says Kianna wanted to tryout for the Stars this season as an underage player.
Her Comets coach Greg Slobodzian was hired as head coach for the Stars, so Kianna wanted to follow him.
“One reason she wanted to try the next level was to learn more and work on her skills. Her coach works a lot on developing players,” Kim said.
Playing AAA midget hockey is a major commitment for players and their families. The Dietzes are in Saskatoon three times a week for practices and workouts. Their weekends are spent on the road travelling to games as far away as Weyburn, Prince Albert, Melville and Swift Current.
“She loves it and she’s made amazing friends,” Kim says.