The Olds Grizzlys peewee female hockey team are provincial champions.
They defeated the host Medicine Hat Wildcats 2-1 in the gold medal final.
The Grizzlys outshot the Wildcats 40-18.
Grizzlys’ own Kourtney Asaris kicked off the game with the first goal on Wildcats goalie Maddy Ferguson, who managed to stop 38 shots throughout the game.
Coach Shane Dixon described the arena as electric once Asaris scored.
“When we scored first, everybody went bananas, I don’t know how many fans we had, maybe 30 or 40, but it sounded like there were 300 in there, it just erupted,” Dixon said.
The game was tied at 1-1 until it moved into overtime and the Wildcats were down a player with a slashing penalty.
Despite the penalty, the team didn’t feel it was a huge advantage as most of the power plays in the game were short-lived, due to the referees making calls that evened things out again.
The energy on the bench going into the extra time was a nervous one as described by Dixon.
With the advantage, Grizzlys player Sydney Grover went on the offensive and scored the game-winning goal.
Reflecting back to the start of the season, Dixon said there had always been the hope they’d come as far as they did.
“The girls always work hard, they always play hard, and once we realized how things were going and where we were going, the expectation was there that we can win everything,” said Dixon.
The Grizzlys had a good year in general with a monumental 38 wins, five losses and five ties.
On top of that, their atom-aged goalie, Sydney Pound, had a 0.844 save percentage which is no simple feat.
Earlier in the season, the team participated in the Wickenheiser Female World Hockey Festival, which is put on by six-time Canadian Olympic female hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser.
The Grizzlys walked away from the festival as division champions.
Additionally, in a nine-day span, the team not only won provincials but zones and the league championship as well.
The team is now done for the season but is getting ready for their awards banquet on April 6.
