Myah Bowal knows how sweet it is to celebrate a hockey championship.
Some players never get to experience the feeling of hoisting a trophy in their careers but for Bowal it happened in the same season on consecutive weekends.
On March 18 in Castlegar, Bowal and her Richmond Ravens teammates captured the bantam female provincial title with a 6-0 win over Surrey. Bowal scored nine goals in six tournament games.
The following week in Prince George, the native of Terrace was called up to the Northern Cougars triple-A midget female team for the playoff final against the Fraser Valley Phantom and played all three games to help the Cougars win their first league championship.
There was more good news still to come for Bowal when she learned she was the only underaged forward invited to the under-18 provincial team tryouts.
"Last year was probably the greatest season I've ever had," said Bowal.
The 15-year-old was back on Prince George ice over the weekend trying to clinch her spot on left wing with the triple-A Northern Capitals, the team formerly known as the Cougars. She's out to prove she will be one of the top young rookies in the B.C. Triple-A Midget Female Hockey League on a team that appears to have all the ingredients to repeat as provincial champs.
"It was such a good opportunity to play here with the older girls last year just after the bantam provincials - we learned we have to stick together as a team to come out and win," said Bowal, who moved to Richmond last year because there was no bantam female team in Terrace.
"It's so nice to know that they're thinking of (winning the league again). Their goal is to win the Esso Cup (national championship) and I just want to be part of that."
Bowal started playing hockey in her native Terrace at age six, two years after she learned how to skate as a ringette player.
"My neighbours had older boys and they used to play and that got me started in hockey," said Bowal. "I got bored with ringette because all we did was power skate. All my friends played hockey and I just fell in love with it."
As a first-year peewee she played up with the Terrace bantams and finished second to Prince George at the 2012 provincials in Victoria, then helped Terrace win the B.C. title the following year in Vernon. That team included Sage Desjardins, Kelsey Roberts, Taylor Beck and Marissa Nichol, who now play for the Capitals.
Having learned hockey at a young age, Bowal anticipates the play exceptionally well, has above-average stickhandling skills, a great wrist shot, and is blessed with breakaway speed.
"I've seen Myah since she was peewee age and she's always been a half-step ahead of her peers," said Capitals manager Carl Johnston. "She has a very strong hockey sense, she knows where to go, how to get there and how to get the puck in the net - she always has."
Desjardins, 17, has known Bowal since she started playing hockey nine years ago.
"She's an awesome player, I've played with her a long time and it's going to be great to play with her again," said Desjardins. "She's definitely going to be up there (among the league leaders) in points. She has a good shot and a good sense of the game and she's great to play with. I don't think there's a skill she's not good at."
Now that Bowal is based in Prince George, that will give her parents - Bobby and Shammi - more opportunities to make the trip from Terrace to watch her play. Bowal is expected to take up some of the scoring slack left by league scoring champion Ava Keis, who has graduated from the midget ranks. Bowal will likely play on the Caps' top line with Desjardins and Nichol. They were linemates on the Terrace bantam team three seasons ago.
Desjardins, Roberts (a goalie) and forward Hunter Mosher also tried out for the provincial U-18 team. Mosher is the only one still on the 25-player roster, with final cuts coming in September.
"It was awkward for me at first because I didn't know many of the girls but it was a good experience to be there," said Bowal.
Last year's Cougar team dominated the provincial midget league, losing just three of 30 regular-season games on the way to the championship. Despite their success, none of the Cougars were selected for the provincial under-18 team that represented B.C. in the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
"That just lit a fire under everyone to play hard and prove a point," said Desjardins.
Eleven players from last year's midget championship team are back with the Capitals this season and the addition of Bowal and rookie forward Caily Mellott has them primed for another run at the B.C. championship.
"I'm just really excited about the season and hope it goes slow so I can enjoy every minute of it," said Desjardins. "For sure we'll have to be better than we were last year but we can do it."
Northern Capitals Roster 2015-16
Kelsey Roberts
Tamara Williams
Sage Desjardins
Marisa Nichol
Myah Bowal
Callie Mellott
Katie Young
Hunter Mosher
Taylor Beck
Mackenzie Muir
Jordan Shanks
Victoria Johnston
Victoria Byer
Casey Norris
Sydney Jordan
Grace Barlow
Kenna Lloyd
