ST. PAUL – It was a weekend filled with celebration in St. Paul, as fans packed the Clancy Richard Arena – and the home team claimed provincial gold on Sunday afternoon.
The St. Paul Canadiens U18 female hockey team hosted Tier 1 provincials, welcoming five other hockey teams from across the province.
The Canadiens went into the gold medal game on Sunday with a perfect record and managed to keep up the momentum with a 3-1 win to claim the provincial championship.
The Canadiens won their first game on Thursday 3-0 against the Fort McMurray Huskies. On Friday, the Canadiens took on SP750 (Sherwood Park), also winning that game 3-0.
On Saturday, the Canadiens battled against Okotoks in a heated battle that ended with a score of 3-1. The same two teams met up at 8 a.m. on Sunday in the semi-finals, with the Canadiens winning the match once again with a score of 3-0, knocking Okotoks out of the tournament.
The other semi-final match saw SP750 (Sherwood Park) play GHC Inferno Red (Calgary), with Sherwood Park winning the game 2-1.
The Canadiens took on SP750 in the final game at the Clancy Richard Arena. The stands were packed with cheering fans.
It was Sherwood Park that would get on the scoreboard first with a goal from Samantha Stephen. But St. Paul would pull together and tie the game 1-1 with a goal from Kaylee Radcliffe, assisted by Hayden Feland and Irelyn Loughran.
The Canadiens kept pushing, scoring a second goal courtesy Aliya Werstiuk.
Werstiuk would prove to be a force, scoring the team’s third goal, assisted by Hailey Axley. Werstiuk would also be named the Canadiens’ player of the game.
