Pee Wee/Bantam hockey tournament brings teams to Jasper

About 80 girls aged 11 to 13 flooded Jasper this weekend from Cochrane, Grand Prairie, Grand Cache and Sylvan Lake to play in a Pee Wee/Bantam hockey tournament.

Organized by Jasper Bantam Grizzlies team manager Teresa Sillence and parents, the tournament consisted of 12 games over the weekend.

Each team played three games to determine their standing followed by three finals on Monday.

The Jasper Bantam Grizzlies lost just once over the weekend, beating Cochrane once and Grand Cache twice.

One of the wins against Grand Cache was in the B final on Nov. 10 with a final score of 6-2. 

Mike Dillon, one of the Bantam Grizzlies coaches, said the game “was really good” and demonstrated “the real kind of hockey strategy... playing their positions and that sort of thing was where they looked really good,” he said. “That’s why we were able to keep them down to only two goals.”

The team shared the puck around with six different goal scorers for the Grizzlies during the game.

Shaelyn Jackson won the ‘Heat and Hustle’ award for Jasper at the end of the game.

As there is no PeeWee league for the girls to play in, the team plays in tournaments and exhibitions throughout the year.

Despite having no league, they still train twice a week focusing on hockey strategy and skills. “We’re working on all the skills necessary for hockey as well as hockey strategy and just trying to have fun at the same time,” Dillion said.

The next tournament for the girls will be in early December.