Duncalfe ready to continue revenge tour with U15 girls

Shayla Duncalfe has had this matchup scheduled on her calendar.

The captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings’ U15 AAA female club is proving thirst for revenge is the best motivator, as she’s more than prepared to get another pound of flesh tonight when her club looks to outduel the Yellowhead Chiefs — who beat them in the post-season last year — for the second time this season.

“They pressure really hard, and they’re really aggressive, and they’re our rivalry team, which is what we like to call them because that’s who we played in the playoffs last year and they knocked us out,” said Duncalfe on Thursday. “Obviously, we really want to beat them, so we need to play really aggressively against them.”

While Christmas may be soon on the way, Duncalfe still doesn’t forget the disappointing outcome from last spring when Yellowhead downed Brandon for good during extra time to close out the best-of-three, first-round series. But a fresh season brings about new opportunities.

Duncalfe and the Wheat Kings got off to an 0-3 start this year under first-year head coach Emma Greenwood, but they were able to secure their first win of the season against their arch nemesis, the Chiefs, with a 4-2 victory in Yellowhead’s barn.

Ever since that game, Brandon’s seem to be trending in the right direction, as they now sit fifth in the standings and carry a 3-4 record following two straight wins over the Pembina Valley Hawks and the league-leading Eastman Selects.

Duncalfe, who’s notched a pair of goals and assists through seven games played, has liked what she’s seen so far but believes they have another level they can get to.

“I definitely feel like we’ve had ups and downs,” she said. “We’ve been doing pretty good, and we came really hard on that last game, beating that first-place team, but there are some things we can work on for sure.

“We’ve really been working on breakouts and just getting out of our end and really working on the blue-line and stuff; just getting the puck out there. Other than that, I think just like passing the puck around and still pressuring really hard.”

She knows those improvements are going to be crucial to their match against Yellowhead, who will be ready to make them pay if they happen to make any costly mistakes. In those moments, however, that’s when Duncalfe’s leadership skills shine the most.

“I really love being vocal and being the leader and just having the girls look up to me and just having that responsibility,” Duncalfe said. “I think we get down pretty easily, like, not too easily, but if we are, I think the most important thing is just getting them back up and making sure they’re not being down and making sure it’s OK that they make mistakes and stuff like that. It happens to everybody.”

This year’s club only has five returning players from last season — Brittyn DeVlieger, Cora McBeth, Chelsea Sun, Alana Champagne and Duncalfe — so some unforced errors are naturally bound to happen, but that’s just part of the growing pains that come with having less experience.

The roster has had plenty of turnover, but that hasn’t at all affected Duncalfe’s expectations for this season. She wants to win, no matter what.

“Last year, what happened, it’s definitely motivating,” she said. “We lost in the first round, so I just want to do better than last year and not get out in the first round this time.”

In order for that to happen, Duncalfe will have to lead the charge offensively.

Last year in her freshman season, she posted 15 points in 27 games and is hoping to rack up even more points this time around. It’s a more than realistic shot, considering her versatile tool kit and hardworking mindset to grind it out in the corners and win those much-needed puck battles.

With a year of U15 already under her belt, she also feels more confident in her abilities.

“I think that I’ve grown a lot and just feel a lot more comfortable this year because playing with the older girls, just like them, makes me have more confidence and stuff, and just knowing that next-shift mentality, where if I make a mistake, I just go out there and do better the next shift.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com