Submitted Story | The Swan Valley Peewee A Stampeders were victorious at the Hockey Manitoba Provincial Championships in La Broquiere on March 2-5 by capturing the Peewee A Provincial title.
In the Championship game, the Peewee Stamps again faced a strong Mitchell Mohawks, a team that desperately wanted revenge for an overtime loss in the 2016 Championship game. The Mohawks and Stampeders were ready from the puck drop with end to end action and great saves by the goaltenders to keep the game deadlocked at zero going into the second period.
Early in the second the Mohawks took a tripping penalty and gave the Stampeders dynamic powerplay the opportunity they needed to open the scoring. A hard shot from the point by Jackson Badowski was tipped by Kash Henklemen and slid through the Mitchell Mohawks goaltender breaking the tie. The intensity of a Championship game increased with Mitchell fighting hard to equalize the score and the Stampeders working hard to defend. At 5:27 of the second the Stamps struck again. Two nifty passes from Will Munro and Domi Leask to set up Sam Moshenko who snipped a shot past the Mohawks goaltender increased the lead to 2-0. The middle period ended with the Stampeders up by two and eager to begin the final period.
As the final frame started the pace didn’t slow down for a second and the energy level of both squads never wavered. Back and forth action, block shots, diving saves and players putting it all on the line to taste victory was on the menu for the fans in attendance. The referee decided he wanted more drama with 8 minutes into the third and sent the Stampeders to the penalty kill. It was time for Brady Burghart to demonstrate why he is considered one of the hardest working players in the business. On the penalty kill, Burghart stripped the puck from a Mitchell player and killed up much of the penalty by keeping the puck away from the exhausted Mohawks.
The game continued at a torrid pace late into the game until Mitchell cut the lead down to one with a seeing eye shot from the point that found the top corner of the net. The young Stampeders continued to battle with the end in sight as the opposition pressured and looked for the equalizer. At 1:49 on the clock the Stampeders were again sent to the penalty box this time for highsticking. The Mohawks tasted opportunity and stormed the net, with shots flying from everywhere the Mohawks pulled their goalie and added to their man advantage.
Nate Immerkar and his teammates did all they could to keep the slim lead, a stoppage in play with just 24 seconds left in the game gave everyone time to catch their breath and get organized for the final drive by the Mohawks. With the faceoff to the right of Immerkar, Domi Leask was given the task of winning the most important faceoff of the season to Bo Eisner who was waiting to clear the puck down the ice and secure the championship. As the linemen dropped the puck, it slid back to Eisner and was fired down the ice surface to kill the last few seconds of the game. The Swan Valley Peewee A Stampeders stormed the ice with victory in hand and swarmed their goaltender to celebrate a hard fought game and the tournament.
Nate Immekar stopped 24-25 shots and Bo Eisner was stellar as game star. Congratulations to players Will Munro, Sam Moshenko, Domi Leask, Brady Burghart, Eli Betcher, Kaden Ferland, Kash Henklemen, Tyan Mykula, Wyatt Rose, Bo Eisner, Bailey Hunt, Jackson Badowski, Andrew Pidskalny and Nate Immerkar on an incredible season. Coaches and manager are Ken Munro, Derek Henklemen, Leon Mykula and Shanna Schroeder.
The 2018 Provincial Champion Peewee A Stampeders ended the season with a record of 27 wins-6 losses-2 ties along with also capturing the prestigious Tournament of Champions title in that was held in Brandon.