Hello everyone and welcome to this week's edition of The Mic Check. I had been thinking long and hard all week for a topic that would entertain you, but for a while the only interesting things happening in my life were me getting hit by the flu and some criminal mastermind hacking my credit card details and running up a huge bill. That was until I attended a certain hockey game in Cold Lake on Friday.
For those of you that don't know, the Cold Lake Jr. B Ice had quite the season, which wrapped up with the team's third consecutive league title this past Friday.
Cold Lake was hot from start to finish, carrying a regular season record of 29-4-1 into the playoffs, where the team dropped just one of 12 games.
And that all led to Friday night's encounter with the Wainwright Bisons at the Cold Lake Energy Centre, where the Ice would secure the NEAJBHL championship before a crowd of more than 1,300 roaring fans. But it wasn't easy.
Despite nudging themselves in front after two periods of intense hockey, the Ice found themselves on the bad end of a 4-3 score with less than a minute to go. But that all changed when charismatic captain Niko Bourget raced clear and slotted the puck beyond helpless Bisons goalie Ronald Paulson (so close to a Fight Club quote, I know!).
The scenes that ensued were almost cataclysmic, as each and every fan at the Energy Centre jumped to their feet, hugged the person beside them (stranger or not), screaming as loud as their lungs would allow them to. Music to the ears of the players on the ice - well, half of them at least.
I don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind as to what the outcome would be after that goal was scored. I don't recall the Bisons having another scoring opportunity the rest of the night – while the Ice players pushed forward in search of their goal.
That Dallas Ansell, the hat-trick hero himself, was the one to get the championship-clinching goal was remarkably fitting considering the season he has had. Whenever the Ice have been down, or needed inspiration to drag them from the depths, Ansell, the regular season points leader, has been the one to stand up and deliver.
For me, the atmosphere in that building replicated that of a football match (I still have a hard time bringing myself to call it soccer) in England. It was certainly as loud. And it really was a fairytale end to what has been a fantastic season so far for the Ice.
Now, they must travel down to what I'm sure will be a cauldron of hate and resentment in Wainwright for the provincial championships next weekend. One thing's for sure though, if the boys display the same amount of grit, heart and determination as they showed in the game on Friday, we may very well be welcoming provincial champions back home next week.
