AMHA Players: Where are BY JACEY CONWAY
they now?
MACKENZIE EBEL MacKenzie Ebel is a well-known hockey athlete at Princeton University and it was her humble beginnings in the Airdrie Minor Hockey Association (AMHA) that launched her hockey career. Ebel began playing hockey at age five in Airdrie and played for seven years before moving on to the Rocky Mountain Raiders Female Bantam AAA, based in Cochrane, Alta. After two years on the AAA team she moved to southern Alberta to play for the Warner Warriors in the Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL) for her three years of midget. After graduation, Ebel continued to play hockey for two
6
years at a prep school in Kent, Connecticut, and prepared herself for Ivy League school consideration. While at Kent, she committed to play for Princeton University, a Division 1 program in the NCAA. “Looking back, playing in Airdrie is where it all started for me,” says Ebel. It took a lot of hard work and commitment to be where she is but Ebel encourages aspiring hockey athletes to continue working hard to make it to the next level, especially young girls. “It is one of the best decisions I have ever made.” Ebel graduates in June with a degree in psychology and has future plans to become a clinical psychologist.
AIRDRIE MINOR HOCKEY 2019-2020
SHELLEY SZWAST
“Looking back, playing in Airdrie is where it all started for me”
