The Sundre bantam Huskies won their home tournament’s C final.
The event, which also doubles as a fundraiser, brought to the Sundre Arena seven visiting teams, which each got to play three games from Friday, Jan. 11 to Sunday, Jan. 13.
Visiting teams came from Olds, Airdrie, Leduc, Drumheller, Grande Prairie, and Rockyford as well as from the High River area.
Drumheller beat Olds to claim victory in the A final, while Airdrie defeated Leduc to win the B final. The Huskies took the C final against Grande Prairie, and Rockyford won against the Foothills squad from the High River area to take the D final.
The Huskies first played against Rockyford on Jan. 11 during the tournament’s opening game, which the home team won 6-4. They faced stiff competition in their second game against Olds, who ended up winning 7-2. But they bounced back to win 4-1 against Grande Prairie in the C final, said coach Nathan McCullough.
For the most part, the games were fairly even and although the early morning matches were scantly attended, the number of fans who came out picked up later in the day, he said.
“The general consensus from everybody who was there was that it went pretty well,” McCullough said about how the tournament panned out.
“The prize table was well received,” he said, adding the total amount raised had not yet been determined as of early last week.
Some of the funding from the home tournament goes to the Sundre Minor Hockey Association as well as helping with registration fees and player development. Additionally, a portion is allocated to offset costs for away tournaments, with some also going towards a season wind-up event, he said.
The bantam Huskies finished their pre-season in the Central Alberta Hockey League’s tier 3, and the regular season so far has “been a tough go,” he said.
“We’re against a few of the tough teams.”
There has been a learning curve in terms of getting the team to play consistently, the coach said, adding the season so far “has not been a walk in the park by any means. Every game has been a hard battle.”
However, facing stiff competition is definitely beneficial for the players’ growth as they progress in their hockey careers since they have to rise up to the challenge, he said.
As of last week, the Huskies have won four games and lost six during the regular season, he said, adding they planned to be on the road over the past weekend for a tournament in Camrose.
Throughout the season so far, the coach said he has observed the team maturing as a group and building bonds, which has translated onto the ice during the last few games , he said.
“They’ve started to somewhat put it together.”
The coach hopes that team chemistry will only continue to improve throughout the rest of the season, as the bantam Huskies have the potential to “really break out” and be among the contenders for a spot in playoffs.
The primary focus during practice at this stage in the players’ hockey careers as bantams is on developing team plays, including taking advantage of powerplay opportunities as well as establishing systems to kill penalties.
“The game moves a lot faster as they get older,” he said.
“Everybody’s got to be much more involved…it takes the whole team.”
