The spirit of the sticks is alive and well.
During the weekend of June 6 to 8, 32 teams competed in the annual Innisfail Minor Lacrosse Association Spirit of the Sticks Tournament, which attracted teams from as far away as Edmonton and southern Alberta.
“Our Innisfail teams were very competitive as the bantam and midget teams took gold, and the peewee Phantoms took bronze after finishing fourth in the round robin,” said Quinton. “The novice team played hard but did not finish with a medal.”
She added the Olds Stingers won bantam bronze and the Red Deer Chiefs #3 took the bronze home as well.
“During the round robin, the bantam and midget Phantoms finished atop the standings,” said Quinton. “The midget team defeated High River 9-3, the Calgary Hornets 12-2, and the Rocky View Rage 5-2 to put themselves in the gold medal match. We are fortunate to have the bantam Phantoms go to the gold medal game as well. They were able to defeat High River 9-3, the Calgary Hornets 6-5 in a close one, and outscore Fort Saskatchewan 15-4 to earn a berth in the final.”
Sunday morning saw the Olds Stingers take on the Calgary Axeman in the peewee gold medal match, which saw the Axeman win 3-1 in what was a stalemate until the beginning of the third period.
Tied at no goals apiece for the first 30 minutes of play, the Axeman broke the knot and quickly went up 2-0. The Stingers found the Calgary net and made the game close at 2-1. Finding the back of the net one more time, the Calgary team finished the game with a final goal to take the 2014 peewee title.
“Our Innisfail Phantoms bantam team took the gold medal match against Sherwood Park in overtime,” added Quinton. “After three periods the game was tied 4-4 and in overtime, the Phantoms got a penalty for cross-checking and we were short-handed.”
James Lague scored the medal winner for Innisfail and gave the team the exciting victory.
“The midget Phantoms also took the gold medal in their game against the Calgary Hornets #2 team, they won 8-4,” added Quinton. “Their hard work all season paid off, not only for the midget team, but for novice, peewee and bantam teams.”
She added the tournament was a great success from a host perspective, with impressive displays of sportsmanship and skill coming from every team.
“I am very proud of the Innisfail teams, this was a great season so far,” said Quinton.
League playoffs start next week.
