Lesleigh Campbell | Special to the Fitzhugh
The U15 Jasper Bearcats’ season came to an abrupt halt on Saturday when they were outnumbered and outshot by the Westlock Warriors.
The precursor for this game was that two of Jasper’s top scorers were suspended, and watching from the stands. Nevertheless, 10 Bearcats proudly took the ice. Austin Shmidt, Jackson Irwin, Dustin Derksen, Carson Miller, Louis Campeau, Casey Peel, Bode Hofhuis, Joshua Doyle, Carson Campbell, and Brady Campbell made up the short bench.
The game got underway with both teams playing their hearts out, knowing their seasons were on the line. However, things didn’t exactly go the way Jasper had hoped in the first period when Westlock scored the only goal, and another Bearcat was thrown out of the game.
Things were looking up for Jasper in the second period when, two minutes in, Dustin Derksen got them started, with assists going to Carson Campbell and Jackson Irwin. The celebration was short lived, as 30 seconds later the Warriors took the lead back. Not more than a minute later, Campbell danced past the defense and tied it back up. But with only three Bearcats on the bench, Jasper was getting tired, and gave up the next three consecutive goals to Westlock. With four minutes left in the period, Campbell scored his second goal of the game, making the score 5-3. And something that I haven’t mentioned yet is that in order to advance, Jasper didn’t actually have to win this game. They just couldn’t lose by any more than two. But the Warriors made sure they got one more right before the end of the period, making it 6-3 after 40 minutes.
All Jasper had to do was get one more goal, and they had lots of time left to do it. About half way through the third period, Campbell scored his hattrick goal, getting the Bearcats back to where they needed to be. If the game could have ended right then and there, the Warriors wouldn’t have been able to get two more goals before the end of the game, effectively ending the Bearcats’ season. These kids deserve a pat on the back for the tremendous effort they put forth in this game, and all season long. That’s all she wrote for the 2021-22 hockey season, but thank you so much for supporting your U15 Jasper Bearcats.
