Bronze Medal Game - the last game of the season, vs Durham West Lightning

In their final game of the season, the Hawks would have a chance to do something only one previous Hawks team has been able to do, and that is play for a medal at the Esso Cup. In the bronze medal game, the Hawks would square off against the Durham West Lightning, the team from Ontario, for a chance to bring home some hardware after a long week of hockey. The Hawks had beaten the Lightning 4-1 in the previous match-up, but everyone knew this would be a new game. The Lightning came out looking like they had a little more jump in their step. Perhaps the nerves of being the home team and playing in front of a large home crowd wore on the girls a little. Three minutes into the game, the Ontario team would strike, and get on the board first. This would take a little wind out of the sails and the Hawks struggled a bit to get quality shots on goal in the first. In the second, the Hawks would take and turn the tides a little, and a great short-handed goal from Makenzie McCallum, would tie the game up at one. Halle would continue her stellar play from the week and keep the Hawks in it through two. In the third, things would become a little unravelled for the Hawks. Three straight goals for the Lightning would be the difference maker in the third and heartbreakingly, the Hawks, despite a valiant effort and superb week of play, would have to settle for a fourth place finish in the tournament, with a disappointing 4-1 loss.  The long and winding Road to the Esso Cup would finally come to an end for these girls and their coaching staff, after a long season of hockey.

Even in this most difficult moment, we the fans, the ardent supporters of girls hockey in the Pembina Valley region, couldn’t be more proud of the huge accomplishment that the female midget Hawks made. The Hawks proved it could be done...a host team can win its way to the Esso Cup. In the previous eight years of the Esso Cup history, no host team had ever won their way to the Esso Cup. The Hawks broke that mold and became the first team to do so. The Hawks won the provincial banner in sweeping all three playoff series. They were denied a chance to play for the Western banner, but still beat the West champions in the first game of the Esso Cup. They finished third in round robin play, lost a one goal game in the semis and left it all on the line as they played for bronze. 170 or so teams across Canada started the season looking for an opportunity to win the Esso Cup, and only one team is able to. Finishing fourth in the national championships is a huge accomplishment. It may not feel that way to the girls today, tomorrow, or even in a few days...but soon enough it will sink in. They played in the national championships and came in fourth. 166 teams would call that an unbelievable success. 

This will be the last game write up for me. My daughter is one of the graduating players, and will move on from this prestigious program. It has been both my honour and delight to have been tasked with writing up the game summaries and posting the awards of the girls, for you, the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends. I’ve done this for the Uncle Dons, the Grandma Aldersons, the Grandma and Grandpa Heides, the Herntiers (long time Hawks supporters) and all the family and friends that live too far away, but also the Papa Denis’ and Grandma Vals (even though they were usually there), as well folks like Dana’s mom and people like the Zdans and Powells who trusted their daughters to the team and to billets and couldn’t always make it to the games. I know there are a lot more people I haven’t named, especially over the course of the three years, but trust me when I say I haven’t forgotten about you. Your friendships, words of encouragement and support have been a blessing. I hope you have all enjoyed this as much as I have. It has been a great three years for me and for my daughter. These memories will last a lifetime, as I hope they do for you too. Thanks to all of you who have made this a special journey.

Stay tuned for photo gallery updates, as I sort through a few thousand photos from this week, and post within a few days, as well as info on the wind up.