A young hockey player from Saint- Anicet stands out
Marie-Ève Marleau has no reason to envy boys on the skating rink as she proved Wednesday evening at the new Centre Vidéotron in Québec City during her first competition at the most prestigious pee-wee hockey tournament in the world.
The young forward from Saint-Anicet distinguished herself in the first game with the Étoiles de Beauval pee-wee CC who were playing against the Rorquals de Charlevoix, the number one team in the province. The 12 year old athlete powered teammate Benjamin Bigras for two of the three goals scored by the Étoiles during the game. In the 3rd period, Marie-Ève gave her team hope thanks to her skilful forward playing as she prepared her line mate for the second goal.
Even if the scoring did not provide the desired results (a 6-3 defeat), Marie-Ève was able to hold her head high coming out of the dressing room. In her last season of boys' hockey, she has achieved her dream of lacing up her skates at the amphitheatre that will welcome pee-wee hockey players from all over the world between now and February 21.
"As hockey experiences go, this is hard to beat. It's always really fun coming to Québec but I will remember this experience for a long time." declared Marie-Ève, whose mother, Doreen Blais, was born in the Old City.
Like François Marleau, her hockey player father, Marie-Ève began playing minor hockey at the age of 8. "I spent my childhood playing by the water behind our house. I would have loved to be a goalie but my father thought I should play forward," described the young girl who grew up on lac Saint-François.
Marie-Ève, who is very articulate, does not hesitate to praise her coach, Stéphane Bouchard. "He's terrific. His pep talks are very motivating," she said, a big smile on her face.
Marie-Eve attributes the success of the Étoiles, who only had three losses in 27 games before heading to Québec, to their team chemistry. "They have the best team spirit that I've ever seen," she confirmed.
A secondary 1 student at Collège Bourget in Rigaud, Marie-Ève plays hockey at school and next season, in her first year in bantam, she will transition to women's hockey. "I would like to play hockey for as long as possible," she concluded proudly.