As Alberta’s Provincial Zone 4 Midget D Representatives, Eckville’s Midget Tier 2 Hockey Team opened up the Alberta Provincial Tournament in Elk Point against the Smoky Lake Northstars on March 23rd with a win of 6-1.
Eckville then continued on through the three-day round robin tournament as the winners of Pool B with a decisive 11-4 win over the Battle River Knights and a 7-7 tie with the Valleyview Ice Bears to end the round robin.
On the fourth day of the tournament, the Eckville Eagles met in the tournament semi-final against the host home team, Elk Point Avalanche and overcome a second period deficit of 4-2 to win the game 7-5, which put Eckville in the final game later in the afternoon for a chance at being provincial champions.
In the tournament final, the Eckville Eagles met up again with the pool A winners, the Valleyview Ice Bears.
Unfortunately, the Eckville Eagles were unable to overcome a 2-0 deficit going into the third period, and they ended up losing 4-0 to Valleyview.
Valleyview Ice Bears were crowned the Alberta Provincial Midget D Champions and the Eckville Midget Eagles were awarded silver medals.
Despite the loss, the Eagles led the tournament in many categories:Brandt Seland was second in the tournament Goal Scoring with 10 goals.
Eagles first line of Brandt Seland, Braidon Westin and Brett Westin each finished respectively in the Top 5 of the tournament scoring [Brandt Seland : 10 Goals 3 Assists; Braidon Westin: 6 Goals 7 Assists; Brett Westin: 4 Goals 8 Assists; they combined for 38 points.]
Eckville Eagles goalie Wade Pattison finished in the Top 3 Goalies with a record of 3-1-1 and a .88 save percentage.
Coach’s Notes:The tournament was definitely comprised of Alberta’s Finest Tier 1, 2 and 3 Midget Hockey Teams. All the games were very fast skating, and every team had skill. Saying that, nobody could take a shift off and teamwork was a huge factor in getting to the finals.
Losing in the end was heartbreaking and tough, we just ran out of gas. But overall, myself and the rest of the coaching staff and parents are very proud of the guys! The guys never quit, they stayed positive right through to the end and they played the best hockey we have ever seen them play!