MALLAIG - It was a weekend packed with hockey as the Mallaig Monarchs U18 team hosted this year's Hockey Alberta U18 Tier 3 provincial tournament.
The action started on Thursday, with the Monarchs meeting up against SE703 - a team from southeast Edmonton. Mallaig won the game with ease, notching a final score of 7-0.
On Friday morning, it was the other team from the region that hit the ice first as the Elk Point Avalanche took on the tournament's eventual winner, the Kneehill Chiefs. Kneehill took the lead and held on throughout, ending the game with a final score of 4-1.
The Monarchs hit the ice on Friday also, ultimately winning against the team that travelled from La Crete, 6-3. The game was close for the first two periods, but the Monarchs pushed hard through the third to win the game.
The Avalanche would hit the ice one more time on Friday for the last game of the day, this time winning convincingly against Valleyview, by a score of 10-5.
Saturday afternoon saw a tough game for Mallaig, as they came up against Thorsby, and lost 3-1, but still qualified to play on Sunday morning in the semi-finals.
Elk Point had another strong showing on Saturday, winning their game against the Glenlake Hawks, 6-1, and also earning a spot in the semi-finals.
Hitting the ice first on Sunday, Elk Point and Thorsby would battle it out, with Thorsby winning the game 4-2. The loss would knock the Avalanche out of the tournament.
Then, Mallaig would take on the Kneehill Chiefs. But, the Chiefs would take the win by just one goal, 5-4.
That set up the finals for a match between Kneehill and Thorsby, with Keehill winning 3-0, and claiming this year's U18 Tier 3 provincial title.
Despite not taking home the championship, the tournament drew hundreds of people to the small community arena, located within the County of St. Paul, just a few miles north of Highway 28.
During the weekend, long lists of supporters and sponsors were acknowledged for helping make the tournament a success.
