Thunder came rolling through town on the weekend with a distinctive local flavour.
The National Ringette League’s B.C. Thunder swept a four-game series from the Black Gold Rush from Edmonton — winning two games at the Richmond Ice Centre and the other two in South Delta. That leaves the Thunder with a 5-1-0-1 record with a pair of upcoming road trips to Alberta — Nov. 10-11 against the Calgary Rath then off to Edmonton Nov. 24-25 to face the first place WHAM and the Black Rush again.
The NRL was launched 2004 as a showcase for the top women’s talent in the country. The league currently features 15 teams with the Thunder part of the Western Division. The Atlantic Attack are the reigning champions.
Behind the B.C. bench is Troy Takasaki in his first season as head coach. He was hired last April, shortly after a decorated campaign with Richmond Ringette’s U19 team which culminated with a gold medal win at the Western Canadian Championships in Saskatoon. He had been coaching at the U19 level in Richmond for the past 18 season and was named B.C. Ringette’s coach-of-the-year.
Competing in the NRL is much-more complicated than just promoting players from his successful U19 squad. The Thunder’s roster ranges from 18 to 42 years of age and features talent from throughout B.C. and beyond. There are Finnish imports Salla Naakka and Petra Ojranta along with additional players from Manitoba and Ontario.
There are twice weekly practices in Richmond and players attend based on their availability.
The roster does include two rookies — Takasaki’s daughter Hailey and Emma Paradis — two standout players in last year’s run to the Western Canadian title.
Paradis was added for the post-season after playing for Fraser Valley. Takasaki scored her first NRL goal on the weekend and now has seven points, making a nice adjustment to the league’s blistering tempo. She will also be playing for Team B.C. at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer next February.
The Thunder will be playing back at home in early January against the Edmonton Wham in games that will be part of Richmond Ringette’s 24th annual West Coast Classic tournament, slated for Jan. 10-13.
