SUNDRE – There was plenty of hockey action recently at the Sundre Arena, where eight teams including the hosting Huskies played in a U18 tier 3 tournament fundraiser.
The tournament’s guests were the Cochrane Rockies, the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers, the Thorsby West 39 Bucks, the Edmonton Capitals, the Taber Oil Kings, the Calgary Knights, as well as the Ponoka Stampeders. Overall, there were 146 players.
Games got started on Friday, Jan. 26 when the Huskies faced off against the Taber Oil Kings in a match that was handily won by the hosts with a final score of 8-3, said coach Jason Martyn.
Their second game on Saturday, Jan. 27 against Ponoka proved to be a hard-fought, uphill battle that ended with the visitors clinching a one-goal victory with a score of 2-1 that sent the Stampeders into the tournament’s A final to face off against the Knights.
On Sunday, Jan. 28, the last day of play, the Knights defeated the Stampeders 2-1 in overtime play to win the tournament’s main event, while the Huskies bounced back from their loss against Ponoka to dominate their last game of the tournament against the Capitals to claim a commanding 6-3 victory.
Describing the tournament as a great weekend loaded with fun and plenty of community support, Martyn expressed appreciation for everyone who donated prizes for the raffle table as well as all of the parents and volunteers who helped out to make the fundraiser possible.
Following the tournament’s final game, the Sundre U15 Huskies faced off against the Indus Hurricanes in regular Central Alberta Hockey League play, and notched out another victory on their belt with a 2-0 win.
Coach Austin Fyten said the Huskies played a “solid, all-around game with special attention to the defensive side.”
Fyten credited the Huskies’ shutout to the team's goaltender, Tylan Mahan, for getting in front of and stopping “all the shots he faced.”