Adzija helps Canada to
bronze
St. Thomas native has memorable tournament at IIHF U18 worlds
Monday, January 22, 2018
By
Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - Lexie Adjiza will always remember singing the Canadian anthem with teammates following the bronze medal game.
Adjiza helped Canada win the bronze medal, defeating the host Russians, 5-1, at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) under-18 women's world championship, in Dimitrov, Russia, January 6-13.
Not only does the St. Thomas native have memories, Adzija surely left an impression on Hockey Canada, with one goal, three assists, 13 shots on net and a plus two, over six games. Adzija was selected Canada's player of the game, in the team's quarter-final win over the Czech Republic.
"I had an amazing experience," Adzija said. "We came home with a medal. It wasn't the outcome we wanted but to win 5-1 in the bronze game was still great."
Vladislav Trekiak, the current president of the Russian Hockey Federation and one of best goalies to stand between the pipes, handed out the bronze medals.
"That was cool. Miracle (docudrama about the 1980 U.S. men's hockey team beating Trekiak's former team, the Soviets) has been my favourite movie for as long as I can remember. That was a memorable moment shaking his hand when receiving my medal."
A semi-final loss to the U.S., in a shoot-out, dashed hopes of going for gold. Canada led 3-1 after two periods, penalties hurt the Canadians in the third period.
"The game against the U.S. was emotional and tough. To lose in a shootout definitely sucked, but I thought we played a great game. I'm still very proud of the team. We were confident and came into the game strong and ready to play. After scoring three goals in the second period, we knew we had to come out just as strong, but we ran into penalty trouble," Adzija said. "But if you compare it to our round robin game (a 6-2 loss), we definitely proved ourselves. We weren't the same team from the round robin and that was a positive coming out of it."
Adzija scored her first goal in official international play, giving Canada a 2-1 lead.
"It was a great feeling to get my first goal, especially against the Americans. It was a memorable moment for sure."
Canada didn't have a spectacular round robin, with one and two losses, including falling to the Russians in the eight team tournament opener.
"I think there were 2,500 fans, which for us girl hockey players we've never had before. That was incredible to step on to the ice too," said Adzija. "We were prepared and ready to play, but just the nerves and the fans. It was quite an experience. The fans yelled the whole game. You're not really accustomed to that. The Russians came out very strong, with a ton of support."
Canada rebounded to beat Sweden, before falling to the Americans, resulting in a fourth place finish and a quarterfinal against the Czech Republic who won the other pool.
"Going into the first game there were lots of nerves. It didn't matter where I was in the line-up. I still had to bring my game and play to my potential and embrace the opportunity. Getting past the first game, I felt I definitely grew," Adzija said. "I was there playing for my country and probably the best experience of my life to date. I learned a lot from the coaching staff and playing with amazing players. I can take a lot from worlds, to bring back to my club and school teams."
This week Adzija returns to both her club team, the Oakville Hornets, in the Provincial Women's Hockey League and high school, at Appleby College. It is her final season with both teams, as she heads to Quinnipiac University, a division one school, in Hamden, Connecticut, this September.
Her first international experience has fuelled the fire, to achieve her life long dream of playing at the Olympics.
"The next step is the U22 team. I definitely aspire to that," Adzija said. "To reach my goal of playing at the Olympics, I see is possible now. Being exposed to worlds makes me want to reach that goal even more."