ST. PAUL - It was a weekend of tough competition at the Peace Memorial Multiplex in Wainwright, as the top Junior B hockey teams from across Alberta gathered to take part in this year's provincial tournament.
On March 31, the Canadiens took on the Beaumont Chiefs and walked away with a 4-4 tie. Goals by Jacob Leroux, Logan Higdon, Brody Green and Tysne Stanski kept the St. Paul team in the game, but neither team could secure the win after three periods of play.
On April 1, the Canadiens came up against the Cochrane Generals, and it was another close game. But, the Generals would take the win with a final score of 5-4, and eventually would claim a spot in the championship game on Sunday.
Two goals by Green, a goal from William Chemago, and a goal from Kurtis Labant would get the team close, but a final goal from Cochrane with less than five minutes on the clock would seal the win for the Generals on Friday.
A 5-3 loss on April 2 against the Fort St. John Huskies would end the weekend tournament for the Canadiens. Fort St. John would pull ahead with a 3-0 lead before the first period of play was over.
In the second period, Nicolas Beaudoin would score the first goal for the Canadiens, followed by Janson Pashniak helping edge the St. Paul team closer to a win. But, the Huskies would continue to push, and even with a goal from Labant, the Canadiens would fall to the team from Fort St. John.
The Huskies would go on to win a semi-final game later the same day against Okotoks, securing themselves a spot in the finals on Sunday.
In the bronze medal game, Okotoks would beat the Sherwood Park Knights 5-2.
And in the finals, the Fort St. John Huskies would come out on top and claim this year's provincial title, winning the final match against Cochrane.
The host team from Wainwright would lose their first two games of the tournament, but win their third against Sherwood Park. However, the lone win wouldn't be enough to advance to the semifinals.
