The Jasper Midget Bearcats gave themselves an early Christmas present last weekend, winning their final two games before the holidays in front of parents and friends at home. On Saturday night, the Bearcats stuck it to their visitors from Westlock, winning 7-1. The comfortable victory was followed Sunday by a 6-3 win over the Athabasca Hawks, a game in which Jasper jumped to an early lead and held on to prevail.

The Bearcats looked to be more organized in attack from the opening minutes of the first period Sunday, spending extended time in the offensive zone and leaving goaltender Logan Ireland with little to do at the outset. Despite controlling the flow of play, the Bearcats had difficulty converting on several gilt-edged chances before Nathan D’Heer finally scored the game’s first goal. Picking up a loose puck at the side of the net, D’Heer cooly slid the wrap-around attempt to the back of the goal.

It didn’t take D’Heer’s teammates long to follow his lead, and barely two minutes later Alex Melnyk found himself with time and opportunity in the slot after being set up nicely by Tyler Chorneyko. The diminutive Melnyk wristed a high shot off the post and in, and the Bearcats were in control.

Not needing any assistance, Jasper got some anyway from the Athabasca goaltender in the final minute of the opening period. An ill-starred clearing pass struck Bearcat Justin Melnyk, who then passed the puck to linemate Aidan Malcolm for an easy poke into the empty cage.

Christmas time is all about giving, and after being on the receiving end of such a generous goal, perhaps the Bearcats’ altruistic tendencies were awakened at the beginning of the second period. Conceding two goals in three minutes, the home side suddenly found themselves in a real struggle with the rejuvenated Hawks.

Bearcats assistant captain Taylor Van Tighem had a nose for the net in the second, however, scoring his team’s fourth and fifth goals to provide some separation on the scoreboard.

Van Tighem, who towered over most of the other players on the ice Sunday, used this size advantage to score his second, holding off a Hawks defenceman before raising the puck beautifully over the hapless goalie.

Up 5-3, the Bearcats scored one more before the period was over, Trevor Schapansky firing a rebound home during a Jasper power play. Chorneyko picked up his second assist on the play after taking the original shot from the point.

Neither team scored in the final period, despite several nervous moments on the penalty kill for the Bearcats. The young team took more than one undisciplined penalty late in the game, something that coach Lloyd Lafrance said that Jasper will have to avoid after the break.

“Teenagers will be teenagers,” he said. “Sometimes, even for us as adults, it’s hard to do the right thing.” Lafrance favours an up-tempo, physical game and said that the Bearcats need to play that way to succeed.

“We need to irritate, not retaliate, that’s part of our identity as a team,” he said. “We’ve got some smaller young guys who can take it to other teams physically, but we need to have our older players leading by example and not taking penalties with three minutes to play.”

Van Tighem’s star turn in the second period was an example of a veteran showing this leadership, Lafrance said.

“He’s a great player, but he’s only useful to us when he’s on the ice ... he’s a very emotional young man, but when he’s out there playing he takes control of the game ... with his size and skill.”

The weekend victories come hard on the heels of four ties in a row, meaning that the Bearcats have been undefeated since November 27. Lafrance is not worried about the holidays interrupting the team’s momentum.

“We’ve got a skills camp coming up, so we’ll be on the ice a lot,” he said. “It’s a well-deserved rest and a good chance for the guys to just enjoy.”

The long streak of tied games had a lot to do with the team’s attitude, Lafrance said.

“In a couple of them we came from behind but we also gave up leads,” he said. “We’ve concentrated on our play without the puck and also on playing a full sixty minutes and this weekend it’s paid off. The team’s attitude has changed quite a bit in the last four days and they’re feeling pretty good about themselves now.”

The team’s next home action is set for January 7 and 8 with games against Slave Lake and Legal.

In other minor hockey action this weekend, Jasper’s Atom Bears won two games at home to close out the 2005 portion of their schedule. The team  battled to a 6-5 win against Slave Lake on Saturday before trouncing their visitors from Edson 9-2 on Sunday afternoon.

While the young hockey players of Jasper are done for the holiday season, slightly older children will be playing an extra special exhibition game on Thursday afternoon (December 22). For the third year running, municipal employees will face off against their counterparts from Parks Canada.

“It’s a pretty good rivalry,” said Doug Rodwell, Chief Bylaw Enforcement officer with the municipality. The game is all in fun, but in previous years both sides have brought ringers in for the contest. This time around there will be strict scrutiny of the rosters to ensure every competitor meets the criteria, Rodwell said with a laugh. Game time is 2:30 pm at the Activity Centre.