Berg shines with Team Canada
Annie Berg’s second time wearing Team Canada colours was a world away from her first appearance.
In 2016, the 20-year-old Beamsville resident played for Canada at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championships in St. Catharines. Fast forward to March 2019 and the 5-foot-9 forward was a member of Canada’s women’s hockey team at the Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
“It was very different, but that was more because of the place we went. Obviously when I was here representing Canada, I was at home, I was comfortable, I was 20 minutes from my house, I could see family and I was in contact with them.
“Over there, it as a whole another culture, there was a language barrier, there was a time change to back home and it was tough because this time I am in university and staying on top of school work wasn’t easy, especially because exams are coming up.”
The third-year kinesiology student agreed she appreciated a second chance to represent Canada on the international stage.
“Now that I am getting older and realize I only have so many years left — I will probably only play one more year — every opportunity I get, I want to make it a good one because it is coming down to the end of it.”
In round-robin play in Russia, Canada defeated China (10-0), Japan (4-0), the United States (1-0) and Switzerland (8-2) before losing 4-2 to Russia. After defeating Japan 5-1 in the semifinals, Canada fell 2-0 to Russia in the final.
Berg, who recorded six assists in the tournament, was pleased with her overall performance at the event.
“It’s harder competition being on the international stage and I was very happy,” she said. “I was lucky to get a fair amount of ice time, I was out there for power plays and penalty kills and it was a great experience.”
She learned a lot about herself as a hockey player at the event.
“You get comfortable on your club teams and your university teams and you sort of accept the role you are given, but to be part of a short-term competition you have to step it up and prove yourself in a short amount of time,” she said. “Time is precious and you have to make the most of every moment to prove yourself.”
Her most memorable moment was playing the Russians in the gold-medal game.
“We lost to them before (in round robin), so we took that as motivation and it was a huge privilege getting to play against 11 Olympians,” she said. “I had never got to compete on that level before so to be able to see where you are at was very exciting.”
Berg also listed the Opening Ceremonies as a highlight.
“You got to meet so many people and everyone was going crazy trading pins, trading sweaters and trading everything.
“I had never been travelling before and to be able to see all the cultures was great. There were 57 countries there and that was amazing.”
This past season, Berg was named a Second Team Ontario University Athletics All-Star after recording 11 goals and 14 assists in 24 games. In her rookie season, she was the OUA rookie of the year and a member of the OUA and U SPORTS All-Rookie teams
Berg has already played 72 games in her university career and has not missed a single contest.
“I attribute that to off-season training,” she said. “I work really hard to keep myself in shape and strong so I can be healthy during the season. Our trainers at school really help with that.”
The next step in her progression as a hockey player is to improve her finish.
“In the (round-robin portion of the) tournament I had 25 shots in four games and I had so many opportunities,” she said. “I need to work on putting the puck in the net and learning to bury them.”
Soon hockey will be on the back burner for Berg.
“As of now, hockey is sort of ending. I want to go to med school and I am very busy with school as well.”
