The Sundre Novice Huskies stirred up some nail-biting excitement during their recent home tournament.
The local squad hosted seven teams at the Sundre Arena on Nov. 11 and 12, and successfully sailed on through to the final against Airdrie.
With the clock ticking away the last moments in the third period when the Huskies were down by one goal, the coach decided to pull the team's goalie, paving the way for the squad to tie the score at 4 and force the game into overtime.
"It was a pretty eventful final, that's for sure," said Dallas Rosevear.
Neither squad managed to score any goals during overtime, leading to a nail-biting shootout that Airdrie ended up winning 5-4 to place first, with Sundre in second, he said.
"It was pretty exciting," he said, adding the experience was good for the novice players, who got a chance to become familiar with that type of situation to see how they handle themselves under pressure.
Local hockey fan Evelyn Mill described the final as "NHL excitement from eight-year-old players."
The Huskies won their first game against Cremona 9-4, and shut out Caroline 8-0 in the second game to secure their spot in the third and final game against Airdrie.
"During the last game, the stands were pretty much full," the coach said, adding hockey fans ó some of whom even painted their faces ó were blaring air horns and waving signs.
The squad recently finished tiering rounds in the Central Alberta Hockey League. Going undefeated 6-0 in tier 4, the Huskies were bumped up to tier 3 for the regular season, he said.
"We got a pretty good little team this year," he said, adding the novice players have been steadily developing their skills, such as skating backwards to regroup when necessary, and have really picked up on their positioning on the ice. It's not the dynamite level anymore, where several players all lunge after the puck.
Additionally, the team has a good combination of an effective defensive line that keeps down the number of goals scored against the Huskies, with a strong offensive line that manages to score several goals every game. Keeping pressure on the puck leads to possession of the puck, which in turn leads to goals scored, he said.
"We could probably be in the top of the league in our tier all year."
One key focus point during practice has been breaking out of the team's zone and moving the puck up the ice, he said.
The coach also expressed his gratitude for volunteers whose efforts enable coaching staff to dedicate more time and attention to the players.
"I'm lucky that I got a really good parent group and support group that allow me to focus on the kids and coaching," he said.
"That's one of the reasons these kids have developed the way they have."
With the regular season now getting underway, the coach expressed optimism for the months ahead.
"I'm excited, this year is going to be a good year for us," he said.
"Hopefully we can capture a banner this year and have another one hanging on the roof at the arena."
