By Wendy Graves via Hockey Canada

Jessica Vance is only 17 years old and she’s already played at a Western Canadian and a Canadian Bantam girls softball championship.

And baseball isn’t even her best sport.

In five seasons with the Prince Albert Bears, the goaltender has rewritten the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League (SFMAAAHL) record book. Her name now accompanies the marks for most wins (48), shutouts (16), games (91) and minutes played (5,128).

“It’s good to hold those records – it’s something to be proud of, but it’s not something you work toward,” says Vance. “I work toward the wins, playing game by game.”

When Vance stood between the pipes for the Bears’ 2010-11 home opener against the Weyburn Gold Wings it marked just the second time a Grade 8 student had played in the SFMAAAHL.

Despite being first-year Bantam age, Vance says her goal was to make the Midget team that year. The coaching staff wasted no time letting her get her feet wet.

“There were a lot of nerves for sure, but it’s good looking back and taking all that experience and using it now with my playoff run.” (The Bears have advanced to face the Saskatoon Stars in the SFMAAAHL semifinals.)

Vance was named the team’s rookie of the year that season. Since then she’s twice been the Bears’ playoff MVP, and last season she was awarded team MVP honours, as well as the league’s top goaltender.

The progression from girl who admittedly played on edge most of her first season – “I always had nerves just because I didn’t know what it would be like” – to calm presence posting the league’s best save percentage (.944) in her fifth comes with maturity.

And raising her voice.

“I’m pretty loud on the ice now,” she says, laughing. “When I first got there I wouldn’t say anything at all, but now I communicate a lot with my defence. That part of my game has really improved.”

Even more than with her words, Vance has grown as a leader with her actions, says Jeff Willoughby, head coach of the Bears.

“Every year she’s realized she plays a bigger role and she’s led by example more,” he says. “She tries to take [younger players] under her wing and show them the way.”

Vance has been playing hockey since she was four years old. In Novice, she got her first taste of being a goalie. She was hooked instantly.

“They didn’t really have anyone and I always wanted to do something different than everyone else I guess,” she says. “I ended up being good at it so I wanted to keep doing it.

By Atom the goalie gear was all hers.

It was soon after that she started making her mark, including helping backstop her boys’ Atom team to the city championship.

Since switching to female hockey in her second year of Peewee, Vance has twice represented Saskatchewan at the national level. She played for her home province at the 2013 National Women’s Under-18 Championship and most recently at the Canada Winter Games, site of her proudest hockey moment.

“Saskatchewan is always an underdog,” she says. The team defeated British Columbia, hosting the event in Prince George, in a shootout – “a moment I’ll never forget,” says Vance – to clinch a spot in the semifinals. Even though it fell to eventual champion Quebec on a late third-period goal, the team left with its head held high. “Finishing fourth was a pretty big accomplishment; I know it wasn’t expected of anyone.”

The ability to handle the big moments is thanks to a lifetime of participation in other sports.

“Just playing a lot of sports in general helps you stay fit,” she says. “In softball I always face pressure situations, and it’s nice to face those all year round, so I’m used to them when it comes to hockey.”

Next season Vance will move on to the University of Manitoba, where she will redshirt her freshman year. After stepping up as a Bantam player five years ago Vance will have to slow down for a year.

“It’s going to be a good thing because they have two goalies who have been there a while,” she says. “I can learn from them.” Vance will attend practices, dry-land training and team events; she just won’t play in any games. “CIS is a big jump from Midget AAA, so I can learn the pace, and the schooling is big step from high school. It’ll just give me a year to settle in.”

Willoughby agrees this new role will only benefit Vance, and she’ll be able to contribute more as an upperclassman. Maybe the Bisons will end up with a goalie as valuable to them as she’s been to the Bears.

“Having a strong goaltender gives your team a better chance at success and gives your players more confidence,” he says. “It’s been huge [for us] to have Jessica.”