For the first time, the Regina Rebels have won the Esso Cup national championship.

The squad defeated North York Storm 2-1 in the 2024 Esso Cup to win the Canada’s Women’s U18 National Club Championship on Saturday afternoon in Vernon, British Columbia.

Their gold medals represent an improvement above their third-place finish last season.

“After winning bronze last year, we only wanted to win this event. And here we are,” said Berlin Lolacher, 16, who was awarded the tournament’s top forward.

Lolacher equaled teammate Stryker Zablocki and Storm’s Sydney Bowness for 11 points in the Esso Cup.

She also began the scoring in Saturday’s game, scoring the club’s first goal midway through the second period off a rebound from Addison Greve and tied the tournament record for most Esso Cup goals with ten.

Only a few minutes later, Rebels’ Zablocki won a sprint to a dribbling puck dropped into the attacking zone and scored, increasing the advantage to 2-0.

Only two of the 49 shots faced by Storm goaltender Jamie Sanford resulted in goals.

The Storm’s Lily Paisley would cut the advantage to one with a power play goal off a rebound midway through the third period, but the Rebels would hold on to win the 2024 Esso Cup final, defeating the club that had defeated them 7-6 in overtime in the preliminary round approximately a week earlier.

“Saskatchewan has always been regarded as an underdog, yet here we are, and there is no bunch of girls I would rather compete with. “I adore this team.

Zablocki, 17, was selected the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The Regina Rebels entered the tournament after a dominating season that included only three losses in 30 games. Zablocki led the team in scoring with 65 points in 27 games, followed by Lolacher, who had 40 points in the same number of games.

The Edmonton Jr. Oilers defeated the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers 1-0 in overtime, reclaiming their bronze medal.