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Novice team bags silver at home tourney

Seven teams hit the ice during the Northern Source Rentals Novice 1 Canadiens tournament held over the weekend in St. Paul, with the host team sneaking into the A-finals with a hard fought win early Sunday morning against the Bonnyville Pontiacs.
Ryan Balmer flies through the air to try to get the puck from a Bonnyville player at St. Paul Novice 1’s home tournament. The team came away with a second place finish.
Ryan Balmer flies through the air to try to get the puck from a Bonnyville player at St. Paul Novice 1’s home tournament. The team came away with a second place finish.

Seven teams hit the ice during the Northern Source Rentals Novice 1 Canadiens tournament held over the weekend in St. Paul, with the host team sneaking into the A-finals with a hard fought win early Sunday morning against the Bonnyville Pontiacs.

Each team was guaranteed three game over the two-day tournament. And points were awarded for win, ties and losses. Accumulated points placed teams in the semi-finals for Sunday morning, which then determined the A and B final matchups.

St. Paul’s first game saw the boys face off against Lloydminster.

“We started out slow and couldn't make anything happen. They got some quick goals in the first and we couldn't get back,” said coach Bryce Balmer. “We had a lot of shots our way and returned a lot of shots their way too but with no luck. We missed some chances and we missed the net.”

The game ended with a score of 10-2.

In the second game St. Paul played Cold Lake 1. It was another tough game, but the Canadiens learned from their first game, “and improved on a lot of little things that helped us get on the scoreboard and reduce some shots and goals against, but it wasn't enough.”

The boys fell short and lost 6-3.

The boys went into Sunday’s semi-finals in last place, but because the first placed team got a bye into the A-finals, St. Paul would play the second placed team – Bonnyville 1 – early Sunday morning. The winner of that game would move on to the A-finals.

After losing both Saturday games, a win on Sunday morning was crucial for the St. Paul team to continue playing. Bonnyville came out strong, taking a 2-0 lead, but St. Paul fought hard as the game moved on, putting pressure on their opponents and keeping the score close.

St. Paul closed up the gap, bringing the game to 2-1, but Bonnyville kept fighting, and St. Paul would trail for most of the game, despite scoring a couple more goals of their own.

The third period was the difference maker for St. Paul, with the boys putting on the pressure, keeping the puck in Bonnyville’s end most of the time. After pushing hard to tie up the game, St. Paul would win by a score of 4-3 with just a handful of minutes left to play. Both goalies in the match played outstanding.

“The boys really pulled it together to tie the game and score again to win,” said Balmer.

In the A-final, the Strathcona Warriors proved too much for the St. Paul team to handle. Strathcona was a “very strong team, but our boys were determined,” said Balmer. “The message before the game was to simply keep it simple. Do the little things and go out and play hard and have fun.”

Strathcona got a jump on the scoreboard in the first period with three goals, and St. Paul returned with one goal by Ryan Balmer. The second period both teams battled, but neither put one in the net keeping the score 3-1 after two periods of play.

“In the third, we were tired, but still played strong,” said the coach. But, Strathcona was able to put four more in the net and the final score of the game would be 7-1. St. Paul goalie Will Lafrance saw 37 shots in the game.

“All in all, it was a great weekend and the boys had a lot of fun. I want to personally thank all of the parents that volunteered and coordinated this tournament and made it a success.”

In the B-final, it would be Cold Lake 1 that would take home the title of champions, beating Lloydminster 14-1.


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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