Lesleigh Campbell | Special to the Fitzhugh
The U15 Jasper Bearcats travelled to Drayton Valley on Sunday to play the "Thunder" for their last preseason game of the year.
This game got off to a great start when Drew Kovacs put Jasper on the board early in the first period. A few minutes later Kovacs scored again, with some help from Lincoln Radloff, putting the Bearcats up 2-0. The Thunder answered those goals with two quick ones of their own, followed by a third. Only to have Jackson Irwin tie it right back up soon after. With five minutes left in the period, Drayton Valley took the lead once again, but it was short lived, as Kovacs evened it back out less than a minute later, completing his hattrick. The score was 4-4 going into the first intermission.
Irwin followed suit in the second period, getting his second, and then hattrick goal within the first four minutes. Casey Peel then assisted Irwin's fourth goal of the game shortly after. With Jasper up 7-4 at this point, things were looking good. That was until the Thunder matched the Bearcats, goal for goal until they had it tied back up 7-7 by the end of the period.
The third period began with another goal from Drayton Valley, followed by many great saves by Jasper's goaltender Brady "Soupy" Campbell (58 in total). With about six minutes left in the game, the Thunder rolled one more time, leaving the Bearcats trailing by two. And with just under three minutes left, Irwin scored his fifth goal, putting Jasper back within one. The game was nearing the end, so a timeout was called as the Bearcat's coaches formulated a plan to try and end this game in a tie. And with 20 seconds left on the clock, Jasper pulled their goalie and sent out the extra attacker. But unfortunately, the clock ran out before the plan could be carried out, and the Bearcats fell 9-8 to Drayton Valley.
The regular season will begin in a couple of weeks, and the verdict is in. The U15 Jasper Bearcats have been placed in tier 2!
