ESTEVAN - The Estevan U13 Provincial Bearcats have captured Hockey Saskatchewan's U13 A championship.
Estevan defeated the Martensville Marauders twice on March 29 at Affinity Place to win the provincial title. First, they defeated Martensville 4-3 in Game 2 to tie the best-of-two final and force a 10-minute, winner-takes-all mini-game. Then Estevan beat the Marauders 1-0, with Hunter Istace scoring the lone goal.
Lexi Fonstad, Avi Mack, Isla Roberts and Mecca Brock scored the goals in Game 2. Everleigh Blanchette was in goal for both games.
Coach Wade Grimes said the Bearcats were relentless in Game 2 and the mini game. Martensville scored late in Game 2 to pull within a goal, and pushed hard for the tying goal, which would have clinched the series, since the Marauders won Game 1, but Estevan held onto the lead.
"We just battled from start to finish," Grimes said in an interview with Â鶹´«Ã½AV. "They just had it in their mind they were going to win that game. It's as simple as that, there wasn't another option.
"They skated well and they defended well, and they kept that Martensville team to the outside very well. And they were just buzzing around the net."
Martensville was a good team, and it could have gone either way.
"Thankfully it went ours," Grimes said with a laugh.
There was a good crowd for the game as well, and some fans brought horns and signs to support the Bearcats. The local team was also able to use the dressing room for the Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins, which was an added treat for the players.
Prior to the mini-game, Grimes asked the players if they wanted to be the champions at the U13 level, and they responded they did. He also told them that he never had the opportunity to win a provincial championship at home when he was growing up in Estevan's minor hockey system.
"It was just simple hockey. They got pucks out [of the defensive zone] and they got pucks deep [into the offensive zone] and they just skated the heck out of them. They were pretty relentless, and they wouldn't take anything less than a win. Kudos to the girls with their mindset."
Estevan was comprised of players from the two Steel Reef U13 A Bearcats teams. The Bearcats 2 team was fourth in the Saskatchewan Female Hockey League's East Division during the regular season, while the Bearcats 1 were sixth, but both teams were over .500. And the two teams combined to have seven of the top 15 scorers in the league.
"The girls have developed well and they've played together for a long time," said Grimes. "You have some years that are off years. There are some years that are good years. There are just a lot of good, quality players that are in this 2012 and 2013 age range."
The club was formed after tryouts in November and they have been practising weekly ever since. They won a tournament in Winnipeg after Christmas, played in the U13 boys' tournament in Estevan and won a game in the competition, and then started provincials. They beat Swift Current in the south final to reach the final.
"If winning was easy, you'd do it every year. And it's obviously not easy. That's what makes it more special, having it happen at home."
