The Barrhead Midget Steelers were less than one minute from possibly claiming the provincial title or at the very least going into overtime.
However, a bad bounce off a Steelers defenceman’s skate with less than a minute sealed the Steeler fate, a 3-2 loss against Calgary’s Trail West Wolves March 24.
“I know they are disappointed not to take home the gold, but in a couple of years, I know they will look back on this and realize how special this season was and how proud they should be of their accomplishment. I know how I and the rest of the coaching staff are of them,” said head coach Lee Abernathy. “We only lost three times this year, and two of them were at provincials to the same team.”
Barrhead’s only other loss this year came in the second game of the Northern Alberta Interlock Hockey League Midget Tier 1 Championship against Slave Lake. The Steelers would go onto win the championship.
Barrhead qualified for the Alberta Provincial Midget ‘A’ Hockey Championships March 21-24 in Strathmore by defeating Spruce Grove and Drayton Valley to in the Zone 3 provincial playdowns.
This is the fifth time in as many years that the Steelers have represented the zone at the provincial championships. Last year they won silver in the ‘B’ division, and in 2017, they went undefeated to take the ‘B’ championship.
In 2016 Barrhead took silver in the ‘A’ division, and in 2015 they just missed being in the medal rounds.
Barrhead opened the championships March 21 playing 3 C’s, a team comprised of players from Castor, Consort and Coronation, defeating them in convincing fashion 9-1.
The game, Abernathy said, was closer than the score indicated as the Steelers got off to a sluggish start and starting goaltender Colton Griffiths was called upon to make several strong saves early on.
“He kept us in it until we could get rolling,” he said, noting Griffiths was named by provincial officials as the game’s MVP.
A few hours later, Barrhead defeated Grande Prairie 8-1.
Abernathy said they benefited from a pre-scouting report from the Slave Lake coach staff who played them during their provincial playdowns.
The next day they suffered their first and only loss of the round robin against the Trail West Wolves 5-2.
“They are a good team and in my opinion, they are the only team that we faced this year that matched us in the skating department. We have some serious speed on our team,” Abernathy said, adding, the Steelers weren’t at their best. “The effort was there, but we were just a little off.”
After having a team lunch, the coaches gave the players the afternoon off to spend with their friends and family who made the trek from Barrhead.
On the third day of the tournament, they faced Duchess from southern Alberta winning 4-2 in the last game of the round-robin.
“We didn’t get off to a great start,” he said, noting it was one of the few times this season the Steelers didn’t score the first goal.
One of the reasons Abernathy attributes the sluggish start is the 9:45 a.m. start, which meant the team had to check in at the arena no later than 8:30 a.m.
“Morning games aren’t something our players are used to. Most of our league games, especially when we play at home, are at 8:30 p.m.,” Abernathy said. “Eventually we woke up and we started playing our game again.”
After giving the team some free time, the coaching staff treated the team to an evening of bowling.
In the semi-finals they faced the KC Spurs from Edmonton, beating them soundly 7-1 in large part due to strong special teams, scoring three goals on the power play and one while shorthanded.
Abernathy added Barrhead’s quick start, scoring exactly one minute into the opening frame, helped them set the tone for the game.
He also suggested the larger ice surface also played to their strength, noting it was the first time they had played on an Olympic-sized rink.
“We really are a good skating team and it didn’t take long for us to figure out how to use that to our advantage,” Abernathy said.
After the semi-final, the Steelers had a long break before the championship game, in which the players were free to do whatever they wanted.
“They’re a great group of young men. Right from the start of the season, they knew what they wanted and really didn’t need a lot of direction. They knew what they had to do to be successful and they went out and did it. You never had to worry about them, you knew they would come back and be focused on what they had to do,” he said.
In the final, Abernathy said the entire roster played exceptionally well, but noted goaltender Colton Griffiths had an especially strong game.
He added one of the reasons why the Steelers were successful as they were was that all season, but especially at provincials, the coaching staff were able to roll all three lines and defence pairings.
Abernathy also wanted to thank University of Alberta men’s Golden Bears assistant coach Dallas Ansell who joined the team for provincials.
“Just having an experienced second set of eyes was a great help,” he said, noting because he was closer to the player’s ages, [Ansell] was able to relate to them. “I know when I was a player I always appreciated having a younger coach available.”
He also wanted to thank all the parents, friends and fans from Barrhead, about 75 in total, who made the trek to provincials, noting it meant a lot to everyone to have them there.
Abernathy noted it was especially helpful to have such a large contingent in the finals against Calgary to drown out the home town fans.
As for what the future holds for the Steelers, he said it is bright, noting eight of the players from this year’s team are eligible to return.
