The Boyle Pee Wee Blazers run at the provincial tournament they hosted was cut short on Mar. 12 after 1-2-0 record during their round robin.
The Pee Wee ëDí tournament hosts may not have had the successes they were hoping for, but were able to walk away with a handful of new memories and their heads held high.
ìThere was a few tears once they knew the tournament was going to be over for them after two games,î said Blazers head coach Dmytro Sawka. ìHaving the school here for the first game and playing in front of the 300 people you could tell they were excited throughout the whole tournament.î
ìWe told them winning and losing is not the most important thing,î he added. ìItíd be nice if we could win, but thatís not the most important. Itís to go out there and try your best and at the end of the day, you can look at yourself in the mirror and say ëI gave it my allí ñ thatís all that matters.î
The team started off their exciting weekend playing against the Magrath Chiefs in front of Boyle School. The home crowd unfortunately didnít help the Blazers, who fell to the Chiefs 9-5.
Following a Ukrainian dinner and standing on ice with seven other teams for the opening ceremonies, the Blazers were up against the Manning Comets. Although they lost the game 17-4, it was the extravagant spotlight entrance that made the night very memorable for the team.
ìComing out in the dark, through the smoke and the lights ñ those kids thought that was the coolest thing ever,î Sawka said. ìI told them before we went out, ëI donít care what happens in this game. What I want you guys to remember is this next little part here. Just soak it in and cherish it.íî
The Blazers ñ out of the running for the championships ñ were able to finish their year-end tournament on a high note with a 6-1 win over the Fox Creek Bulldogs in a game where Sawka saw his team back to their usual selves.
ìItís funny ñ I think they just realized that the tournament is pretty much over, so the come out and they play like they can. I donít know whether they were being more relaxed, (but it) helped them get back into their game.î
In the end, Boyle was able to impress their many guests both on and off the ice, hearing nothing but positive comments on how the whole weekend was run.
ìThe tournament went awesome,î Sawka said. ìI canít thank the tournament host committee enough, the amount of work they did from the start and it just grew and grew from the tournament.î
ìWeíve heard comments that this is the best provincials that some people have been to,î he added. ìActually, one of the visiting coaches that have been to six different provincial tournaments said that this is by far the best one he has ever been to.î
