Lesleigh Campbell | Special to the Fitzhugh
The U15 Jasper Bearcats started 2023 off by travelling to Hinton and Edson this past weekend.
Their first game was played on Saturday against the Edson Sabres, a team that has defeated the Bearcats twice already in the regular season. But as the saying goes, "the third time's the charm."
The majority of the first period was played in Jasper's end, showcasing Edson's strength at controlling the game. However, the Bearcats were able to fend off the hungry Sabres, and instead of giving up a single goal to them, took advantage of the few opportunities they had and pounced when they got the chance. Carson Campbell got Jasper on the board first, with some help from Jackson Irwin and Casey Peel. A few minutes later, Campbell did the same thing again, only with Drew Kovacs offering the helper this time. Irwin then followed suit, helped by Kovacs as well, and the period ended with Jasper up 3-0, even though the shots were 16-7 in Edson's favour.
The second period didn't get off to a great start, when less than a minute in, the Sabres got their first goal. Kovacs answered that with a goal of his own, but Edson scored back to back soon after. Irwin then tipped in Peel's beauty shot, giving Jasper some insurance. The Sabres tried closing the gap with one more, only to have it cancelled out by Kovacs netting his second of the game. The score was 6-4 after 40 minutes.
Campbell opened up the third period with his hat-trick goal, assisted by Kovacs and Irwin. And that's when the Sabres sunk their teeth in and scored not one, not two but three more goals, tying the game 7-7 with just over a minute left. But it must have been Jasper's lucky day, as just when Kovacs gained control of the puck, Edson's goalie skated over to the bench so his team would have the extra attacker. The only problem for the Sabres was that it was Kovacs who was about to attack. Getting his hat-trick goal from the blue line, he fired that puck dead centre into the empty net. The Jasper Bearcats finally beat the Edson Sabres with a final score of 8-7.
The second game was played on Sunday against the Bearcats' favourite rivals, the Hinton Havoc.
The first period got started with both teams looking evenly matched. The only difference was that Jasper was able to get the puck past Hinton's goalie, unlike Hinton, who kept hitting a brick wall. Irwin was the first one to find the back of the net, with some help from Bode Hofhuis. And a few minutes later, Campbell scored, assisted by Irwin and Dustin Derksen.
The second period was a battle back and forth, but it was Irwin who was able to weave his way through the crowd and score two more goals, totalling 4-0 after 40.
Derksen opened up the scoring in the third period with some help from Carson Miller and Louis Campeau. Followed by Campbell who was able to net two more. And then just when it was starting to look like Deja-vu with 1:15 left on the clock Brady Campbell watched his chance at another shutout shatter before his eyes as Grady Hollingsworth finally knocked down the brick wall. This game ended in a 7-1 win for Jasper.
The Bearcats are going on the road again next weekend to face the Whitecourt Wolverines. Be sure to check back here for all of the details of that game.
