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Bantam girls beat Blazers to take provincial title

Stettler’s Bantam girls hung tough over a long weekend in Lacombe, and it paid off handsomely as the team claimed
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Stettler Storm Bantam girls players

Stettler’s Bantam girls hung tough over a long weekend in Lacombe, and it paid off handsomely as the team claimed the provincial Bantam B championship.

The Stettler Bantam Female Storm faced the Lloydminster Blazers in the final game on Sunday, March 15, winning 4-0 to secure the title.

“It was a tight game,” said head coach Mike Kuefler, noting that the Stettler girls had just come off a 3-2 win over the Olds Grizzlies that morning, which went into triple overtime before the tie was broken with a goal by Sydney Sorken.

“Our girls were getting tired,” he continued. “You could see it.”

Sorken was the first and only player to score in the first period of their final game against Lloydminster, while both teams were held scoreless in the second period.

Kuefler gave a large part of the credit to Stettler goalie Rebecca Bridge, saying, “Our goalie stood on her head for the first period and a half . . . (The rest of) our girls took it the rest of the game.”

“The second period was a little shaky for us . . . the girls just dug deep,” said Kuefler.

“It was an incredible third period by our girls,” he added.

Madison Kuefler scored for Stettler with 13 minutes remaining in the third period. As the final minutes ticked down, Hayden Friesen and Breanne Shaw also contributed goals, while the Blazers couldn’t manage to slip one in.

“We had timely goals from everybody,” said the coach. “It was incredible . . . You couldn’t write a better script if you tried.”

He credits the Blazers for being a strong team but says they knew what to expect. Had the Blazers lost in the semi-finals to the Red Deer Chiefs – a game that went into double overtime – it might have been different as they had never played against them before.

Kuefler said he counted just one easy game over the whole weekend. The tournament ran from Thursday, March 12 to Sunday, March 15, hosted by the Ponoka Lacoka Warriors in Lacombe.

Stettler played Lloydminster in their opener on Thursday night, winning 4-2, followed by a 5-2 win over Lacoka on Friday afternoon.

On Saturday morning they took on Spruce Grove, winning 9-2, then losing 1-0 to the Edmonton Blizzard that evening.

Sunday morning’s game against the Olds Grizzlies, ending with a 3-2 win in triple overtime, was exhausting for the team, but couldn’t hold them back from their ultimate victory.

Kuefler said the team had a great season, with one loss in the regular season and five game losses altogether.

“We had such a good group of girls,” he said. “They want to learn, they want to get better.”

Kuefler observed that the team had had to cope with several injuries this year, but gave credit to assistant captain Jamie-Lee Spady, who was forced to drop out after breaking her ankle about a month ago.

Spady has remained with the team as a supporter and “cheerleader,” and still sits on the bench, Kuefler reported, saying, “She was a good sport for our girls, kept ‘em positive.”

In league action, the Stettler Bantam girls were scheduled to begin their final playoff series against Lacoka on Tuesday, March 17, the start of a best-of-three series.

“The key will be getting them motivated,” said Kuefler, noting that the girls needed to refocus after winning the provincial title, but also adding that victory will be within their grasp if they can maintain the same level of play.

(Jeffrey Heyden Kaye of Black Press contributed to this report.)