The explosion of joy at the end of an Agrena hockey game last Friday marked a coronation.
The Barrhead Steelers had just been crowned Zone 3 Midget B champions after brushing aside Edson 5-2 in playoffs. The previous weekend they had beaten them 3-1, making for an 8-3 aggregate victory.
The Steelers will now compete in a March 20-23 provincial tournament in Edson, featuring winners in the seven zones across Alberta. Their opponents will be Sexsmith, Vermilion, Hanna, Vulcan, Hughenden and Innisfail.
“The boys fully believe they can win the provincial tournament,” said head coach Jason Murrell.
“However, it’s going to be really tough. We are talking about high-level hockey in which you play five games in three days. It’s for all the marbles.”
If the Steelers continue performing at their current level, they must have a fighting chance.
In the playoffs they began by rolling over Athabasca and St. Albert. On Friday night they emerged comfortable winners against a side that must be sick of the sight of them.
Barrhead and Edson have played each other several times in the North Central Minor Hockey League. Despite losing at the beginning of the season, the Steelers have had the better of subsequent confrontations.
The two teams are expected to clash again soon – this time for the right to be called north division champions of their league.
Whoever wins that encounter will go on to play the south division champions. The winner will be declared league champions.
For now, Barrhead can bask in the glory of being Zone 3 champs.
“It does sound good,” agreed Murrell. “We’ve had a really good year. The boys have bought into our system and are playing very good hockey. They are supporting each other a lot and finding each other on the ice. The biggest improvement is teamwork.
“They play for each other, back each other up, and if one makes a mistake, the other fills in and covers for him. Their positional play has improved a lot.”
There are one or two injury problems ahead of the provincial tournament.
It means Murrell may boost his squad with a couple of players from the Barrhead Renegades.
“You don’t want to be shorthanded in a provincial tournament,” he said.
