Submitted by: Craig Zamzow | On the weekend of Nov 24th-26, 2017 the Pee Wee B Stampeders travelled to the Wescana Inn Pee Wee tourney.

Pictured above: Back Row: Coach Derrick Lukey, Coach Craig Zamzow, Liam McArthur; Middle Row: Nolan Woodward, Jack Mullin, Crystal Zamzow, Brandon Grazier, Carter Addis, Jett Cook, Coach Warren Gray; Front Row: Mackenzie Lukey, McKenna Gray, Noah Weir, Comrie Quill, Henry Branconnier; Laying on ice:James Parsons

On Friday evening the club faced the OCN Blizzard and earned a 10-1 victory. Jack Mullin led the way with a hat trick while Carter Addis and Noah Weir each added a pair of goals. Singles to Nolan Woodward, Comrie Quill, and Henry Branconnier. Liam MacArthur chipped in two assists.

On Saturday afternoon they matched up against the Flin Flon Bombers, featuring the Eardley twins who played their novice hockey in Swan River. The Stampeders jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a beautiful pass from Gretzky’s office behind the net, from Quill to Brandon Grazier who one-timed a shot as he drove hard to the blue paint to open the scoring. The Bombers replied with two goals before the end of period one. Midway through period two, Crystal Zamzow fired a wrister from the point and Quill made a beautiful deflection just inside the post to tie the game at two heading into the second intermission. The third period would see the Stampeders take five minor penalties, creating an uphill climb. The Bombers scored 5 minutes in, to take the lead before Quill scored again to tie the score at 3-3. With just over six minutes remaining the Bombers scored a power play goal to take the lead. The Stamps pulled their goalie but were unable to get the equalizer and were dealt a 4-3 loss.

Saturday night, the Stampeders would need a regulation win over the host The Pas Huskies (including former teammate Landon Stevens) to create a tie atop pool B. The Stampeders opened well and applied plenty of forecheck pressure on the Huskies defenceman. 6 minutes in Mullin directed a shot on net and Quill again showed his “Palmolive-soft” hands with a deft deflection to give the Stampeders the lead. The forecheck of forwards Jett Cook, Grazier, and Woodward gave the Huskies’ dmen fits but they were continually bailed out by their big and skilled netminder Nolan Sinclair. At the other end James Parsons was solid as a rock despite seeing less action. The teams went into the second intermission with the Stamps still holding the slim 1-0 lead. The 3rd period saw the team play very responsibly, highlighted by exceptional backchecking from Branconnier and Grazier. In the final minute the Huskies pulled their goalie and applied pressure. A screened game-saving glove save by James Parsons with 30 seconds left was the difference until McKenna Gray (playing defence for the first time on the weekend) intercepted a dangerous cross-ice pass in the slot with 15 seconds on the clock to thwart the Huskies last gasp. After considerable deliberation the Hockey MB tiebreaker confirmed that Swan Valley would advance to the “A” Final vs the Thompson King Miners on Sunday based on the head to head game.

The teams were scoreless through the first period, as tight-checking in the neutral and defensive zones limited shots on either net. With 10 minutes left in the 2nd period a King Miner defenceman jumped into the play and fired a wrist shot from the top of the circle. The shot took a fortuitous deflection in front and hit the top corner behind a screened Parsons. The two teams went to the second intermission with the King Miners holding a 1-0 lead. The third period saw the Stampeders find another gear as they pushed the King Miner defenders back, forcing them into several desperate penalties. With 18 minutes remaining Mackenzie Lukey drove to the blue paint and buried a rebound from an Addis shot to tie the score. 3 minutes later on the powerplay Mullin drove the puck low for a wraparound attempt before being joined by Quill to jam home a loose puck to give the Stamps their first lead. 2 minutes later Woodward drew another penalty when he was hauled down on a rush. On the PP Lukey cycled the puck down low before Quill fed Grazier short-side who made no mistake picking the corner. Just as the Stamps got comfortable the Miners cut the lead to 3-2 with just under 10 minutes remaining. With 5 minutes remaining, Zamzow got a shot on net from the point on the powerplay, and the Australian sensation Noah Weir jumped on a rebound to find the twine and a 4-2 lead. The King Miners scored on a goal mouth scramble with 3 minutes remaining to cut the lead in half. The Miners pulled the goalie and forced the Stamps into a desperation penalty with 90 seconds left. Mullin and Addis each had a timely zone clear on the PK in the final minute and Parsons shut the door with a point blank save with 12 seconds on the clock.

The Stampeders held on for a 4-3 victory to claim the tournament title.
The club next hits the road to Canora in mid-December.