It was a golden weekend for two Westlock hockey players as they helped Zone 5 win the peewee hockey tournament at the Alberta Winter Games in Banff.
Blair Boulerice and Jaden Senkoe were two members of the championship team that posted a 4-0-1 record to win gold during the Feb. 6-9 event.
“It was probably the best experience I’ve had so far in hockey,” Senkoe said.
The team started the tournament on Feb. 6 with a 5-1 win over Zone 7, followed by a 2-2 tie against Zone 3.
A 6-0 win over Zone 1 on Feb. 7 wrapped up first place in their pool, booking them a spot in the semifinals.
In the semis on Feb. 8, Boulerice and Senkoe helped their team to a 6-3 win over Zone 4, sending them into the final on Sunday, which proved to be a rematch against Zone 3.
That rematch was nowhere near as close as the first game, with Zone 5 running away with a 6-0 win to claim the gold.
Senkoe said the vast difference in the results of the two games came down to how well he felt his team played in their first meeting.
“You could tell when we tied them we didn’t play our best game, and when we played the final game, we played way better,” he said.
Playing at a provincial tournament is a much bigger deal than playing in small community rinks, but both Senkoe and Boulerice said it didn’t faze them much.
Boulerice was rather succinct when describing the amount of pressure he felt competing at that level — “none at all.”
“I’ve played in big games like this before,” he said.
For Senkoe, there was pressure, but not enough to cause him any grief.
“There was a bit of pressure … with all of the skilled players there were on every team,” he said.
Throughout the five games the boys played, Boulerice said they were successful because they bought into what the coaching staff was hoping to achieve.
“We were really disciplined and we worked hard to get the results that we did,” he said. “Our motto was ‘Win forever, always compete.’”
The two boys were modest about their own personal performances on the ice, with both saying they felt they played “pretty good.”
Boulerice also said his teammates set aside their differences and personal goals in order to help the team.
“Everybody just did their thing,” he said. “Everybody bought 100 per cent and contributed when they had to.
