A convoy of vans left pre-dawn Jasper on Saturday and Sunday last weekend, heading for the Hinton Novice tournament.

The cars were filled with the hopes and imaginations of both players and parents of the Jasper Novice Bears. Some of the kids were still in their pyjamas, some in shirt and tie, while others were already in their hockey gear, but nobody was asleep despite the early hour. The red glow of a lunar eclipse was occasionally visible Saturday in the rear-view mirror, behind the clouds in the sky and piles of hockey gear in the back seat.  

The first Saturday game was 8 a.m. versus a talented group from St. Albert. I could tell the kids on both sides were nervous as there was no scoring in the first period. This is almost unheard of at this level, where a steady diet of breakaways is on the menu. Jasper goaltender Kelan Polard was a big part of this, using his new gear to make some crazy saves.  

Against the offensive flow, Bear defender Matteo Tassoni scored the game’s first goal early in the second frame. This broke the seal, and three more goals were scored in the middle 20 minutes, one more for the Bears’ Tassoni and two for their opponents from north of Edmonton.

St. Albert scored twice more in the third, and despite offensive pressure from the line of Sebastian Golla, Aiden Deagle and Owen Kearnan, and a dazzling save from netminder Dylan Dekker, the Bears were unable to counter. Liam Crozier and Kearnan earned MVP and Heart and Hustle nods respectively for the Bears.

Saturday’s second game for the Bears was a late afternoon affair against regional powerhouse, Whitecourt. The novice team they ice is an experienced group of second-year players who dominated the Bears’ mix of mostly first-year skaters, just learning to play the game. The outcome was clear from the start.

The Bears managed two goals, one again off the blade of Tassoni (that kid has game) and a pretty marker from Lucas Prud’homme, moving in from his defensive position, sliding the puck under the surprised Whitecourt goalie in a rare Jasper offensive push.

The scoreboard loss did not fully reflect what was gained on the ice however. The difference in the final score, one could put down to experience, and with this game, Jasper edged palpably closer. There was no visible difference in enthusiasm or heart.

This was evident on Sunday when the Bears faced Whitecourt again in the playoffs. But first they had to get by a determined Edson team, again in the early morning hours. Although Edson scored first and early (29 seconds in), that would be their only lead of the game as Jasper stormed back with six of their own: three from Tassoni, two from Golla and a singleton from Dekker stuffing in a rebound off of a Tassoni wrister. The final score was 6-2 Bears and was their first scoreboard win on the year. 

With this victory and no penalties in the round-robin, Jasper finished sixth of 12 teams, and thus drew fifth-place Whitecourt again who would have finished higher were penalty minutes not considered in the ranking.

But with that little extra experience, an outstanding goaltending performance from Deagle, another Tassoni hat trick, some feisty play from Dana Angebrandt, and a bit of offensive flash from Lucas Oeggerli, Jasper kept it close, going down 5-3 at the end of 60 minutes.

The Novice Bears grew in valuable game experience during this challenging tournament. Their enthusiasm is already where it should be.