Lesleigh Campbell | Special to the Fitzhugh
The playoffs have begun for the U15 Jasper Bearcats. The only problem is half of the team is in Quebec on a student exchange program.
But the show must go on. So, Athabasca travelled to Jasper this past Saturday and played against our six remaining players. Jasper was also fortunate enough to borrow the goalie from the CR Knights.
The Athabasca Hawks outnumbered the Jasper Bearcats 3-1 and outshot them close to the same. But in the first period, the energy was high on both teams, and Athabasca was only up 1-0 by the end of it.
The second period was when the fatigue started to show for the Jasper players whose only break was at the sound of the whistle. And then with three minutes left in the period, Carson Miller passed the puck down the ice to Jackson Irwin, who heroically found the back of the net, and the applause erupted from the stands like I've never heard before.
Down 4-1 going into the third period, after a much needed intermission, the Bearcats came out and fought hard. Austin Norton from CR stood on his head, while Louis Campeau, Bode Hofhuis, Dustin Derksen, and Austin Schmidt (along with Irwin and Miller) played their hearts out. The final score was 6-1 for the Hawks, but only after getting 67 shots on Norton.
You might have heard me talking about Heart and Hustle awards in the past. They are normally given out to the younger hockey players, and by the U15 level, you don't see them anymore. But if I could have got my hands on seven Heart and Hustle awards after Saturday's game, I would have personally placed them on each of the Jasper Bearcats (including the CR goalie).
The Bearcats are awaiting the news on when and where their next playoff game will be. Check out next week's Fitzhugh for all of the highlights.
