The Athabasca Hawks and the Boyle Blazers fell short of provincial glory in Coronation last weekend.
Both of the bantam teams took part in the event, and even opened up the tournament by facing each other on Friday. Boyle came out on top in that game by a score of 4-2.
“Full credit to them, they came out flying. They were ready to roll,” said Athabasca coach Calvin Klaczek. “It was a great game, back and forth. Our goalie, Robbie Mason, stepped up his game and kept us in there.”
The Hawks may have stumbled out of the gate against Boyle, but they quickly rebounded later in the day with a 4-2 win over the Wetaskiwin Moose.
The Blazers, who had the momentum after their win over Athabasca, took on the host Coronation Royals in the ‘feature game’ after the opening ceremonies on Friday night. They ultimately lost the hard-fought game 3-2.
“It could have gone either way,” said Boyle coach Mark Kilar of the game. “It was a pretty loud crowd, the stands were full from end to end. It was pretty exciting for our boys to play in front of a big crowd like that.”
On Saturday, the Blazers tied Wetaskiwin 5-5 while the Hawks lost to Coronation 2-1. The undefeated Royals were first in the pool, while Boyle nabbed the second spot and qualified for the playoff round.
The Hawks had to go home after their tight loss to the Royals, but they were recognized for their sportsmanship with the tournament’s Play Smart award.
“The teams were all tough. With the exception of Coronation, all three teams had a game they wish they could take back. It was a question of whose bad game cost them more,” explained Klaczek.
For the Hawks, it was their loss to Boyle that likely did the most damage. Even still, the pool was so close that, had they beaten Coronation, they would have jumped to first.
“They really picked up their game. In that last game they played like they did all year. They left everything on the ice and gave it their all,” said the coach. “They have no reason to feel sad with the effort they put in. They deserve to be proud.”
With Athabasca on the sidelines, Boyle carried on to the playoff round for a match up against the powerful Provost Blades, who had gone undefeated in the other pool. Though they battled hard, the Blazers lost 5-3.
It wasn’t the end result they were hoping for, but by getting to the playoff round, the Boyle kids kept a promise they had made to themselves.
“Our goal was to get into the playoffs, and the chips would fall where they may,” said Kilar. “All the boys played really well. We didn’t walk out with a medal, but I’m happy with the way everything turned out.”
Both teams were joined by a strong contingent of friends and family who kept the arena rocking and provided a little bit of home ice advantage. And both teams proved to be formidable opponents for the host team, which went on to win.
Though the season is now over, neither team is unhappy with how it ended.
“It ended on a positive note even though we lost. The way they played was great,” said Klaczek.
Kilar felt the same about his team.
“I thought they represented Boyle well,” he said. “They were a good bunch of kids to coach.”
