This weekend, Athabasca’s Bantam ‘A’ Hawks will battle for provincial supremacy in Three Hills.
The Hawks will join seven other teams (including their counterparts from Boyle) at the event. They enter the competition in Pool A alongside the Coronation Royals, Beaverlodge Blades and Kneehill Chiefs.
The local team will need to shake off any lingering disappointment from losing out to Edson in their league championships last weekend, and focus fully on provincials.
The team should be up for that challenge if their path to provincials is any indication. They bested Westlock, Wabamun and Stony Plain to earn their spot at this weekend’s event.
Westlock was the biggest challenge for the Hawks, according to head coach Jeff Summers, with Wabamun and Stony Plain providing less of a challenge. But the Hawks shouldn’t be expecting any easy games at provincials. If they make it out of their pool and into the playoff round (which will be no easy feat), they’ll meet up with teams from Oyen, Calmar, Raymond and Boyle who want to win just as badly as they do.
But the Hawks carry the well-earned confidence of a team that finished second in their league.
“We feel good,” said the coach.
Of course, earning a ticket to provincials only gets you in the door. They’ll have to bring their ‘A’ game if they want to stay to the end.
“This team needs to do what it has done all year; dump and chase, forecheck and play physical,” said Summers. “We have enough speed to get to the puck first, and enough size to play physical once we get there. If we play our game, we can dictate to the other team how to play.”
A dominant physical team or a club that can score in bushels will have their fair share of success, but most championship teams are those that can compete, if not excel, in every aspect of the game. And the Hawks are one of those teams, according to Summers.
“We have some scoring, and we have a physical presence to keep things calm out there. We have pretty strong defense and goaltending.”
The saying ‘goaltending wins championships’ often rings true, and the coach says netminder Mitch Lovelace gives them that chance.
“He’s kept us in some games where we didn’t show up ready to play, and gave us a chance to win.”
Championship teams also need a steady hand behind the bench, but after a long season, Summers knows there isn’t much left to say to his team.
“It’s the same speech every game,” he chuckled.
It’s the players on the ice who will decide just how far Athabasca goes at provincials, and team captain Joshua Payuk is feeling good about the group.
“The team is connecting,” he said. “We’ll go in expecting the best and trying our hardest.”
