Hockey At It’s Best

(Page 4)

Two weekends in March saw the entire Alberta Minor Hockey community engrossed in the Investors Group Hockey Alberta Provincial Tournament.

Our area falls under Zone 5 and we had many hard-working teams vying for the banners.

We had two Provincial Tournament winners:
Okotoks Oilers Midget A Female and the
Lomond Stars Pee Wee B Female teams.



Head Coach of the Oilers, Jim McLellan quipped, “These girls did an amazing job on their own - it was the coaches job to stay out of their way.” On a more serious note he wanted to comment that in his opinion his team had the best female duo, goaltenders in the province. “It is a real blessing to have two goaltenders as good as they are.” The entire team prepared themselves and knew what they were doing and went out there and did it. Jim also went on to say that he doesn’t think the reality of the situation has quite set in yet. This is a once in a lifetime experience for many of the team members and also for the coaches and team staff.

“This was a great accomplishment for our team,” says Lomond Pee Wee Female Stars Coach, Brad Koch. “What a season! Zone 5 Champions, CAHL League Champions and Provincial Champions! A great season that no one will ever forget. I would like to thank everyone that came up to Red Deer and supported us and cheered us on and the parents for all their dedication and making this year very memorable. Finally, to my girls: WOW! You girls are a great bunch to coach and be around. I loved every minute of it and look forward to next year.”

Lomond Stars, Assistant Coach, Rick Dietrich said, “For such a small town it’s a very special win.”
Three of our teams made it to the finals: High River Rangers Atom A; Okotoks Oilers Peewee AA Minor and Okotoks Oilers Peewee A teams. Five of our teams made it to the semi-finals: Okotoks Oilers Atom AA Major; Claresholm Thunder Atom C; Okotoks Oilers Bantam AA Minor; Okotoks Oilers Bantam A and High Country Rockies Midget B.

These tournaments were hosted all over Alberta and many thanks go to the hosting communities, the organizers and participants.

Congratulations go to all the players, coaches and teams' staff for a very exciting season and tournament.