BALMORAL HALL BLAZERS
sibilities around the house that they maintain throughout the season . Megan has two cows named Mike and Ika that she takes care of and then Corinne is charge of the chickens . So they have regular hockey-teenage life on top of their responsibilities on the family farm . “ But they never skip a beat ,” Zacharias continued . “ Both of them have the highest grade point averages on our team . They are two of the most elite athletes right across the board . They ’ re the fastest athletes on the team and they shut down the rest of our team in the weight room . Little Schroeds can do 14 chin ups . They are incredible athletes .” And they ’ re pretty good hockey players , too . Corinne , the Grade 12 student , is also a member of Canada ’ s National Women ’ s U-18 team and development program . She attended the 2016 IIHF Women ’ s High Performance Camp in Vierumäki , Finland and her future with the national team is bright . This season , she played 13 JWHL games and went 4-4-5 with a 2.78 goals against average and a . 922 save percentage . “ I became a goaltender when I was around 11 or 12 ,” said Corinne , who handles every question with a determined pause . “ I just found that ’ s where I fit . I wasn ’ t afraid of the puck .” She ’ ll take a big step next season as she leaves the family farm in Elm Creek and moves to Boston to play with the highly-regarded Boston U . Terriers . “ Yeah , I ’ m really excited ,” she said . “ It ’ s a long way from Elm Creek to Boston . It ’ ll be a change , but it ’ ll be pretty exciting , I think . I ’ ve visited and I really like it . I ’ ve talked to the coaches and I expect to go in there and work really hard to get better and to work my way up . Maybe not , first year , but second year definitely , I should be able to play at that level .” Megan will be back with the Blazers next year after a solid rookie season in 2016-17 . She finished the JWHL campaign with 12 starts and a record of 6-3-2 . She had a save percentage of . 884 and a goals against average of 3.29 . At BH , she has a bright future . She started playing hockey at five , but didn ’ t become a full-time goalie until her first year of Atom . “ It ’ s an amazing story , but Little Schroeds has had two surgeries on her hips ,” said Zacharias . “ The rotator on her hips had to be shaved down so she was out for her entire Grade 9 season . She didn ’ t lace up the pads once . She had two hip surgeries and still made a full recovery , knowing that we were committed to her even though she didn ’ t play her whole Grade 9 season . We stayed committed , of course , because we knew she had so much potential . It was a bit of a risk , but looking back at the end of this season now , we ’ re glad we took that risk . She exceeded our expectations .” In the meantime , with the off-season coming , it will be back to the farm and a summer of chores . Or maybe not . “ We have 2,000 acres of grain and some laying hens ,” said Rob . “ They ( Corinne and Megan ) don ’ t do their chores too often . They should do more of that . Corinne doesn ’ t have time . She gets home and does her homework . Corinne does a little bit in the summer time . She ’ s often driving the combine when we ’ re busy . Megan has two cows , Mike and Ika . I think they ’ re just real big pets , not farm animals . They ’ re fun but they ’ re frustrating .” It ’ s interesting , but as Corinne ( who will enroll in the rehabilitation science program at Boston U .), prepares to go away to university , her younger sister admits that Big Schroeds will be missed . “ She ( Corinne ) might not realize this , but I ’ ve found it really helpful to have her on the team ,” said Megan . “ She ’ s always there to help me out when I ’ m not sure I ’ m doing something right . Or if I ’ m struggling a little bit , she ’ s there and she ’ s someone I can look up to . I know that if I work really hard , I can make it to where she is now . “ She has much more of an influence on me than I do on her and while she might not know it , it ’ s been great having her around this season . I ’ ll miss her .” n
Balmoral Hall Blazers head coach Gerry Wilson assesses the skills and character of the Schroeder sisters :
Wilson talks about Corinne Schroeder :
“ Corrine is a big Strong Goaltender that plays an NHL-style game . She uses her size very well and has learned when to be aggressive . She ’ s technically strong and very quick and has been a force in the JWHL for two years now . Corrine really developed into an elite goaltender at the midway point of last season . Since then she has been selected to both Team Manitoba and Team Canada . Corrine is a true student athlete in every sense of the term . She ’ s very strong academically as well being a gifted athlete .”
Wilson talks about Megan Schroeder :
“ It can be tough playing goal in big sister ’ s shadow but Megan is living up to the challenge . A young talented and very athletic goaltender , she faced some very high pressure games this year and performed remarkably well . Megan ’ s work ethic , attitude and strength of character will ensure a bright future . Megan is also an excellent student which will make her an even more attractive player to college scouts .”
132 GAME ON 2017 PLAYOFF EDITION