St. Paul’s Midget A Canadiens needed a streak of winning games and found exactly that at the team’s home tournament this past weekend, losing only its fourth and final game to Vegreville on Sunday afternoon.
Eight teams, including a team from as far as Yellowknife, hit St. Paul arenas over the two-day tournament. St. Paul won its games against Cold Lake, Okotoks, and the Northwest Territories to advance to the A Finals match against the Vegreville Wranglers on Sunday afternoon. Although Vegreville initially had the lead by 4 – 2, St. Paul closed the lead to one goal midway through the second period, and pushed to tie the score throughout the third. Unfortunately, Vegreville would seal the win with a goal to make it 5 – 3 in the dying minutes of the third period and finished the A final on top.
“It was a very good game,” said team manager Gisele Hall. “”I think we were well-matched.” Glen Hall, the tournament coordinator, added that the goaltending was strong all weekend long, contributing to two shutouts.
The boys have been in a really tough league, and have had several close games in which they couldn’t find the edge, she said. Over the weekend, in comparison, the boys found themselves coming up strong.
The team needed a streak of winning games, which it got, said 15-year-old Kris Trach, who plays centre on the team. “A lot of players improved. It gives us more experience together, working together.” In the end, he felt the final loss came down to being unable to bury their chances and jump on rebounds.
In the B Final, the Northwest Territories team took on Smoky Lake in a even game that only ended in overtime, with the boys from Yellowknife eking out the win, 3 – 2.
Next up for the team is provincial playoffs in zones, with the first game for the team taking place on Feb. 7 against Lloydminster.
