Michelle Toor would like nothing better than to prove herself in front of her hometown fans at this year's Esso Cup midget girls' national hockey championships.
"From the very beginning of the season, we wanted to earn our way to the nationals and to prove ourselves," said Toor, a 16year-old defender on the host and B.C. champion Fraser Valley Phantom.
Toor, a Grade 11 St. Thomas More student, played on the Phantom at last year's Pacific regional championship, losing out to the eventual national bronze medallist, Edmonton Thunder, on a late third-period goal.
At this year's Mac's AAA midget tournament in Calgary, the Phantom came within a power-play goal of defeating the Saskatoon Stars, a team that eventually lost to the Thunder in the event final.
Toor, who posted two assists in the Phantom's 5-1 series-winning victory over Thompson-Okanagan Rockets in the best-of-three midget girls' final in Surrey last Saturday, says spectators to the Esso Cup tournament are in for some fast and physical hockey.
"Our team is really fast. We use our speed to our advantage very well," Toor added. "We hope to redeem ourselves from last year."
The Esso Cup runs from April 21 to 28 in Burnaby.
