The Mallaig Stingers girls’ team are provincial team handball champions after a nail-biting overtime victory in the final against the Old Scona Academic Olympians on April 27, in Lacombe.
The Stingers won games against Mayerthorpe, Blessed Sacrament, and Edmonton Christian in the round robin before progressing to beat the host school from Bentley in the semi-final, and then moving on to beat Old Scona for the championship banner.
Coach Ian MacGillivray said the final was “exceptionally close.”
“There was one second left and they got a penalty shot. It was 15-15 at that time. The shooter was very good, but she hit the post and gave us a second chance. We went into overtime. And then in overtime we scored four goals and they didn’t score any, so we then won the championship. It was a rather thrilling final,” said MacGillivray.
He said it feels good to have won the banner, especially with the final having been as close as it was.
“Surviving the penalty shot and then going on to win makes this one pretty special.”
Reflecting on the past season, MacGillivray said the team has had a great year, especially with how many players were new to the team. The Stingers participated in three tournaments, finishing second in one and winning another, as well as winning zones before going on to the provincial championship tournament.
“Almost half our team was first year players this year. We were young. So we have a good base of players for the next year coming up. The future looks good as well as what we did this year,” said MacGillivray.
MacGillivray said he does expect most of the players who were new to the team this year to continue playing next year, as well as some new faces. The team is made up of players from Mallaig School and Ashmont Secondary.
