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Lacoka Bantam Warriors host provincials

The Lacombe Arena was a hub of activity over the past weekend as the Lacoka Bantam Warriors hosted the Bantam B Female Hockey Provincials.
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BATTLE - Lacoka Bantam Warriors player Katrina Fisher blasts past Spruce Grove Rebels’ player Tianna Holloway last weekend during a Pool A game at the Bantam B Female Provincials in Lacombe. The Warriors took down the Rebels 9-1.

The Lacombe Arena was a hub of activity over the past weekend as the Lacoka Bantam Warriors hosted the Bantam B Female Hockey Provincials.

Both the Barnett Arena 1 and 2 played host to 23 games of hockey from March 12th to 15th.

Ten Bantam teams from around the province descended on Lacombe to compete for the 2015 provincial title.

Bantam B Provincials Organizer Sharon Klinger said the weekend was a true success and ran smoothly.

“We received lots of compliments throughout the weekend,” she said of the organizing committee.

In order for the round robin tournament to run on all cylinders, it took 10 committee members, numerous sponsors and many volunteers. “We had probably over 75 to 100 volunteers.”

Parents from Lacombe Minor Hockey, Ponoka Minor Hockey, players, community members and previous hockey parents who wanted to return to arena sidelines all stepped up to help throughout the weekend.

As far as the play on ice went, the Warriors went 2-2 in the tournament, not ending up with the coveted championship title, but they played four high-intensity games of hockey.

Game one saw the Warriors matched up with the Edmonton Blizzard, where they showed their dominance as the host, landing a 7-1 win.

Game two, the second held on Friday, didn’t turn out in the Warriors favour, with the Stettler Storm from Pool A taking the girls for a ride with a 5-2 win.

The Warriors were back on the ice early Saturday morning, suffering another loss from the Lloydminster Blazers 3-2.

Saturday night was a triumph for the Warriors, who left their final game of the round robin with a scorching 9-1 win against the Spruce Grove Rebels. Both Jaymee Klinger and Carmen Vogel racked up two points each throughout the three periods.

Klinger said after the game, they presented a tournament MVP award to one of the Warriors.

The player received a standing ovation from the crowd in the stands from both sides.

“It really was one of those moments of the weekend,” said Klinger.

For Pool A, Stettler landed on top, facing off against the Olds Grizzlies in the semi-final on Sunday morning. The game went into a staggering third overtime and Stettler scored the extra point for a 3-2 win.

For Pool B, the Lloydminster Blazers ousted the competitive Red Deer Chiefs in the second semi-final of the day. The game also went into a second overtime with Lloydminster wining 2-1.

The Storm ended up taking the provincial championship in the final game on Sunday against the Blazers pulling off a 4-0 win in regulation time.

Klinger said with having four hockey teams in the local Lacoka program, including Midget and Atom, Lacombe is likely to host provincials again in the future.

news@lacombeexpress.com