The Sundre Atom A Huskies were crowned provincial champs Sunday in front of a hometown crowd.
The team beat the Rimbey Renegades 6-1 to claim gold at the 2013 Investors Group Atom C Provincial Championship held in Sundre over the weekend.
Huskies coach Ken Callow said the team rallied hard.
ìEvery player made a difference this weekend and they all learned that is the true meaning of the term champions,î he said.
Eight teams of players born in 2002 and 2003 battled it out for the provincial bragging rights including Sundre, Rimbey, Kitscoty, Foremost, Beiseker, Beaverlodge, Barrhead, and Tofield.
Callow said the Huskies played very well in their first three games of the championships despite close scores and ìa mind-bogglingî one-goal loss in game three.
He said the team managed to advance to the Sunday semifinals against the team it had beaten in a two-game total point series for the zone championships.
ìSunday proved to be the dawn of a new day as the kids came to the arena with a renewed vigour and hunger for victory,î Callow said.
Eager to execute the skills and determination they had learned over the course of the season, Callow said the Huskies pulled out a nail-biting last-minute victory over Beiseker to advance to the gold medal match.
On Sunday afternoon, they set their sights on Rimbey, a team Callow said they knew they could defeat if they were to bring their tier 1 ferocity.
ìIn the end, the formula was a wholehearted team effort as they fed off of the positive energy on the bench and in the crowd, clinching the championship with a convincing 6-1 win in the final game,î he said.
Sundre's Wyatt Fluet dented the twine twice in the game and chalked up an assist as well, helping him earn the Most Valuable Player award.
Additional points were added from Ethan Simpson, Tyson Surbey, Noah Callow and Kaieson Johnson. Heart & Hustle award winner Kaitlynn Tooth contributed an assist.
The game was rounded out with netminding from Carter Vooys.
The Renegades were led by game Most Valuable Player Chase Kuzio, who battled hard with a goal from Hayden Motowylo.
The Huskies' coach expressed appreciation to the entire community, the Sundre Minor Hockey Association, the many volunteers, and especially to the Huskies Atom A parent group for their tremendous support this season.
ìWe are very proud to have the community support that ultimately helped us achieve a championship this weekend,î he said.
Getting to the championships was not easy, said Calloway.
The roster of nine skaters and one goaltender battled head to head in many one- goal games to eventually earn themselves the distinguished place of second overall in the tier 1 North Central Minor Hockey League (NCMHA).
ìAlthough we were eliminated in the second round of playoffs by one goal after a bitter fight to stay alive, our team rallied together to focus on the ultimate prize, the rare opportunity to play in front of their home crowd in a once in a lifetime championship for top honours.î
The Huskies finished their five-game rally for provincial gold with three wins, one loss, and one tie.
Throughout the months of March and April, more than 6,000 amateur male and female hockey players, ranging in age divisions from Atom to Senior, will take part in the 2013 Investors Group Hockey Alberta Provincials.
Over 400 teams are playing in 42 provincial championship tournaments and six provincial championship playdown series in a battle for their respective provincial titles.
