David Miller | Special to the Fitzhugh
This past week Jasper played three games: Two league games and one provincial tournament play down game.
The first of the three games was an away stint in Callihoo against a Tier 5 team from Stoney Plain.
The kids took the day off of school, jumped on a Sundog bus and made the trip down Highway 16 for their first provincial game.
The way the provincial tournament works is that you play teams based on town size and how many players each town has in their hockey association, it’s not based on talent.
Jasper knew going into the game that it wasn’t going to be much of a game and it wasn’t.
Jasper controlled 99 per cent of the play and fired 76 shots on the Stoney Plain keeper.
Goals were being scored by the likes of Carter Derksen, Jaifred Mota (who did a Kobe Bryant tribute celly after his second goal), but the goal of the game came from “Lights Out” Louis Campeau who found the back of the net with a beauty wrist shot.
Jasper ended up winning 23 to 2.
The next two games were back in Jasper where they played the Mayerthorpe Mustangs in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday.
Jasper came out flat in the first game as the Mustangs scored 15 seconds into the game.
Two minutes later the Mustangs got another goal as they slid the puck past the Jasper keeper and for the first time in a long time the Bears found themselves down two goals.
The Bears did bear down and scored two goals of their own in the first and after one period of hockey, it was a 2 to 2 hockey game.
The Mustangs came out flying in the second period and controlled a lot of the play.
If it wasn’t for the amazing goaltending of William ‘Cool as a Cucumber’ Routledge, Jasper would have been behind, but they weren’t.
Thanks Willy!
Jasper ended up getting two goals in the second and two more in the third and they skated away with a 6 to 4 victory.
Jasper's undefeated streak is now at ten games.
The final game of the back-to-back was a tough one for the Bears.
Fatigue, sickness and rust all played a part in this game.
The Bears looked like a shell of themselves and were outplayed in the first period.
The once unbeatable Bears were down 2 to 0 and could barely muster a shot on net, never mind a goal.
When the second period hit it was the same thing, Jasper was being completely dominated.
It seemed everything the Mustangs put on net went in and everything the Bears put on net was saved and before you knew it Jasper was down 8 to 1.
The Bears did come out flying in the third period and scored three quick goals and it looked like a comeback was about to play out, but unlike Patty Mahomes and the KC Chiefs, the Bears' comeback fell short as they lost 9 to 5.
The Bears have two practices this week along with another provincial game on Thursday and two away games in Leduc on the weekend.
It’s time to start a new winning streak.
Go Bears!
