When the Calgary Flames saluted the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) champions Wednesday night at the Saddledome, there were some familiar Cochranites on the ice waving to the crowd.

Inferno head coach Ryan Hilderman, who also heads P3 Sports, and players Zoe Hickel and Laura Dostaler all have connections to Cochrane. Team members have also been here for skill sessions mid-week throughout the season.

On the weekend, the Calgary Inferno won the Clarkson Cup with a 5-2 win over Les Canadiennes de Montreal at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. On Mar. 27 they were saluted in front of the packed Saddledome by the Flames. 

Ryan Hilderman and Zoe Hickel hold the Clarkson Cup.

"It was all pretty surreal and it all sunk in how big it was for the team and the program to win the Clarkson Cup and to be able to share that with the team," says Hilderman.

"It was a great salute from the Flames and I think all the girls had a ton of fun and were able to enjoy it."

The Infernos were upset by a red hot Toronto Furies team in Game One of the playoffs and it fuelled their drive to the cup. 

"Certainly, Toronto gave us a wakeup call in game one of round one," says Hilderman. "We didn't really look back since. We had the veteran leadership and the awareness that it could happen and that lit a spark under us and away we went."

Hilderman took over as head coach of the team in early December after the sudden departure of Shannon Miller. He had been recruited by Miller as one of the assistant coaches and appreciated having the opportunity to work with and learn from Miller. 

He speaks highly of the commitment of the staff, all of whom have full-time jobs elsewhere, to remain and strive for the championship.

"She is a phenomenal coach. We're just happy we could finish off things that she had started."

Hickel, an American hockey player in her first season with the Inferno and a member of the US women's national team, was named the first star in the championship game. She works with P3 and her presence here has encouraged residents to come out and watch Inferno games in Calgary, says Hilderman.

"She's great with kids and she's a great coach," says Hilderman. "She had a phenomenal playoff."

He believes her best game of the season was Game Two against Toronto and first star in the championship game was well deserved.

"I'm glad she was able to showcase how good she actually is in that final game as well."

Laura Dostaler has played for the Inferno for six seasons and moved to Cochrane a few years back. Besides her commitment to the Inferno and a full-time job, she regularly supports charities and helps youth with their hockey skills. Here in Cochrane, example, she was one of the guest players in the St. Timothy High School's annual charity game.

"They're amazing girls to be able to balance what they do and still compete at the level that they do."

The Inferno played a regular season game against the Markham Thunder here in Cochrane on Dec. 2 and the fans buy-in was well illustrated by the youth lining up for autographs after the game. 

"One of the neat things that happened is a lot of the people who came out to watch that game, came to Calgary to watch more games."

"The tie into the girls' hockey in Calgary is huge and girls hockey in Cochrane is growing and there are some great people leading the growth here."

He says Inferno players, too, are willing ambassadors.

"It's pretty cool to see the buy-in and that's 100 per cent credit to those girls for their hard work and how good they have become now compared to 10 years ago. It's improved so much and the girls improved so much. You saw it at the NHL all-star game (Inferno players Rebecca Johnston and Brianna Decker participated in the skills competition) how skilled they actually are and when you put that together on an ice surface it's pretty fun to watch."

"It's pure hockey. You take the hitting out of the game and the skill has to become elevated or it's allowed to become elevated and then you really get to see the speed of the game and what they're capable of. That was really impressive for me."

Hilderman says it's been a memorable season for the team and while it's difficult to choose, one of the highlights was an eight-day visit to China where they won three games against the Shenzhen Krs Vanke Rays to wrap up first in the CHWL. 

"There, I think everybody got to know each other a lot better so that was a lot of fun. and obvious the cultural experience was unbelievable."

And there was the entire playoff run to the championship.

"The whole Toronto experience at the Clarkson Cup finals, the awards, the game itself, the pregame, postgame; it was all a blast. I'm just super excited and blessed to be a part of that."

Hilderman was acknowledged by his CWHL peers when he was named one of three finalists for CWHL coach of the year.

Already with his hands full with an ever-expanding P3 Sports, Hilderman says the experience with the Inferno was rewarding and he hopes to continue in some capacity in the future.

"What this year did for me was it got me excited about female hockey so I'd like to see that program succeed at that level for girls who are capable of playing at that level. I think I will be involved in some shape or form next year."

This is the second Clarkson Cup win for the Inferno. They won previously against the Montreal Stars in 2016.