The Jasper Atom Bears were on the road in Mayerthorpe two weekends ago to participate in the Sturgeon-Pembina Atom tiering tournament.
Just like the PeeWees last week, this group of mountain-raised boys and girls were there to see how they match up against the regional competition.
The Bears are a healthy blend of seven second-year and eight first-year Atoms under the thoughtful guidance of coaches John Polard and Hugo Prud鈥檋omme. It鈥檚 tough for a team that鈥檚 50 per cent rookies to tier high in these events, but the Bears emerged with a very clear picture of who their opponents will, or won鈥檛 be this season.
Game one on Saturday, against the Edson Canadians, was the weekend鈥檚 highlight. While both teams were shaking off a bit of rust, both were in it from start to finish, so it was a perfect introduction to the season.
Jasper led off the scoring 13 minutes into the first period, when Dana Angebrandt grabbed the puck in her own zone, burned up the ice and ripped a top-shelf wrister that the Canadian goaltender didn鈥檛 even touch.
Angebrandt was dominant for the Bears in this game, controlling the puck, creating space for her and her team and feeding her teammates with precision passing.
Edson tied the game 15 minutes into the second, but before the period was over, and with a Canadian in the penalty box for tripping, Sebastian Golla put Jasper up again, firing a shot that found its way to the back of the net.
Edson would tie the game midway through the third period and that was all for the scoring. This entertaining game ended in a 2鈥�2 tie, and I would wager that this will not be the last time these two teams meet this season.
Game two against Whitecourt A was an entirely different matter. With a squad composed entirely of second-year veterans, Whitecourt鈥檚 dominance over Jasper was never in doubt.
Jasper鈥檚 lone goal, a pretty wrap-around by the Bear鈥檚 part-time goaltender Kelan Polard, paled compared to Whitecourt鈥檚 16 markers.
The story of this game was the work between the pipes by the Bears鈥� other netminder Aidan Deagle. Deagle absorbed so much rubber in this game that he was coughing up radial tires during the break. The final count, a rough estimate at best, was 74 shots鈥�58 of which were saved by Deagle鈥檚 great positioning and tireless spirit. Hats off to Aiden.
To Whitecourt鈥檚 credit, when the game got out of reach, the coach instructed his players to pass rather than shoot, giving some of their less prolific players a chance to carry the puck.
But despite the heroic efforts of Bears like Lucas Prud鈥檋omme to move the puck up ice, this game was over early. It was nice knowing you Whitecourt A, but we won鈥檛 be seeing you again this year.
Game three against the Mayerthorpe Mustangs was the same but different. It ended 16 to nothing in favour of Mayerthorpe, and again our goaltender, this time Kelan Polard, saw enough shots for two games.
But the Mustangs are a different team than Whitecourt. They are dominated by two players who scored 13 of their goals and are allowed by their coaches to wheel and score.
While Jasper failed to score, Coach Polard encouraged the kids to focus on positional play and make the best of a tough situation. Jacob Bartziokas stood tall in the faceoff circle, winning most of his draws and winger Camas D鈥橝ntonio stuck to his defencemen marks with wolverine-like tenacity.
So while the Bears were never in it, they grew as players and as a team. Adios Mayerthorpe.
From the other matchups at this tournament, the smart money is on Jasper tiering B and playing the likes of Edson, Fox Creek, Swan Hills and Hinton.
John Wilmshurst
Special to the 51暗网
