The Steelers are champions.
How good that sounds for Barrhead. And how good it must feel for the players and their coaching staff after a rollercoaster season.
When it mattered most, the Barrhead side dug deep to strike gold in Midget Tier 2 of the 1660 league.
Grit, determination and character – that’s what it took for them to overcome Vegreville Wranglers in a nerve-pounding shootout on Saturday.
“It was exciting and pretty stressful,” said delighted head coach Daniel Lefebvre yesterday. “It’s great to end the season on a high note.
“Everybody stepped up to the plate to show some determination. It was fantastic to see.”
The Steelers had entered Saturday’s game full of confidence after beating Vegreville 4-2 in the opening encounter of a three-match league finals. Goals by Tyson Chizma, Brayden Laun, Josh Perdaems and Corey Mercier gave the crowd at the Agrena plenty to shout about.
In the second game at Vegreville Recreation Centre Arena, the Steelers found the going tougher, as was to be expected.
After the first period the teams were tied 2-2, with Chizma and Jordan Smith finding the net.
The second period saw no scoring, but plenty of penalties – mainly against the Steelers.
Vegreville scored early in the third, before Mercier tied the game up with a goal seven minutes from the end.
With the match precariously poised at 3-3, 10 minutes of overtime beckoned.
Still the deadlock could not be broken, so on to a shootout. There were three shooters per side.
First up was Chizma, who slotted the puck home to put the Steelers ahead.
Dylan Geiger then stopped Vegreville’s first shooter to consolidate the Barrhead side’s advantage.
The Steelers’ second shooter was Mercier, who was thwarted by a pokecheck.
When Vegreville’s next shooter scored, the game was tied.
Now it was up to Scott Westerlund to restore the Steelers’ lead. He succeeded, with the puck going off the Vegreville goaltender’s mask.
After Vegreville missed their next attempt and the Steelers’ Laun scored, the match – and the league finals – hinged on a single shot.
It was a moment for heroes, and the Steelers found one in Geiger, who made a huge save.
“The team was thrilled and deserved the win,” said Lefebvre. “We battled through all sorts of diversity in this game, including one side officiating, losing another player in the second for hitting from behind and, of course, on the road in their barn.”
Lefebvre praised the class, grit, determination and character shown by his side.
“That made the victory even sweeter to win the gold,” he said. “Everybody knew coming into the game what we needed to bring to the table, and we brought exactly what we wanted.
“Each player stepped their game up in the playoffs and especially in this series. Once again our penalty kill had to be on top of its game, which it was. It was a pleasure this year meeting new kids and teaching them throughout the year.”
