John Wilmshurst | Special to the 51暗网
I prefer my heroes to have flaws.
One of my heroes, very flawed, sang that we should forget our perfect offerings. The cracks let the light in.
Last weekend, in the second of a two-game, total goals final for the bronze medal against the Leduc Roughnecks, there was plenty of heat, and light, getting in for the perfect enough Jasper Bantam Bearcats.
If you recall from last week, the Bearcats and Roughnecks skated to a 3鈥�3 tie in Leduc, leaving nothing resolved for the rematch in Jasper.
Based on a strong regular season performance, Jasper was bumped up to Tier 1 for the playoffs, and after an inevitable first-round loss to Drayton Valley (Jasper only had eight on the bench) they were vying for third place against a tenacious Roughnecks squad.
Less than two minutes into the game, it looked like Leduc was going to take the early lead.
One of their many big forwards clanged the puck of the post, and apparently in, behind Jasper netminder, Donovan Fawcett. Donny was back in net after a four game hiatus and in-spite of some early nerves, was solid. But the stripes convened and rightly called the goal off. The puck hit nothing but plumbing.
But the scoreless tie didn鈥檛 last for long.聽
Bearcat captain Sebastian Golla picked up the puck in his own end, slid through the entire Leduc squad and roofed Jasper鈥檚 first goal in tight on a backhand.
Two minutes later, power-forward Liam Crozer, showed some finesse, burying it through a crowd from the high slot to give Jasper a two goal lead.
Then Jasper鈥檚 defense took over - both offensively and defensively.
Blueliner Michael Hayashi found Mac Carmichael in the slot, and Mac came within millimeters of making it three nothing.
And with seconds left to play in the first, Jacob Bouchard fired a howitzer from the blueline that just whistled past the post.
After twenty minutes, Jasper led by two, but it could have been more.
The second period was the Donny show. Dude stopped two breakaways and eight tough shots to crush the Leduc spirit.
Don鈥檚 no angel, but he鈥檚 the ultimate team player, and this team is much better with him in net.
Golla鈥檚 second goal of the game, a breakaway 9-iron up and over the Leduc netminder鈥檚 shoulder, gave Jasper a three-goal cushion that would survive the thick of the second period.
You could read the tension on the faces of players like Rowan Koss and Kalan Sawchuk in the second.
They were battling; winning faceoffs and staunching play through the neutral zone, protecting that legendary three-goal lead; the hardest to protect. These kids have grown so much this season.
Leduc did close the gap late in the third period. On a late powerplay, they finally solved Don with some high heat to give them life leading into the final frame. Three to one for Jasper after 40 minutes.
The big boys came out to play in the third to protect, and hopefully add to, Jasper鈥檚 two-goal lead.
Owen Kearnan was a crushing, defensive force, and Ty Crozier, who once again was the best player on the ice, was simply fierce. He had a lot of good looks on net, and although he didn鈥檛 finish, his work along the boards well made up for it.
Add Tanner Carlton to mix, with relentless puck pursuit, and you鈥檝e got enough buzz saws to unleash your own mill. Leduc really never stood a chance.
Down a deuce, Leduc pressed in the final minutes.
Doing the heavy lifting on defense, Dexter Fawcett and Jacob Bouchard, kept the Roughnecks to the outside, and Don did the rest, stopping everything directed his way.
This is not a perfect group, but every one of them are my heroes.
Their 3-1 victory over Leduc was epic, but you could say that about their entire season.
Pegged for Tier 5 in October, battling to Tier 3 and owning the Tier 1 bronze banner in March is a performance of which they can be justifiably proud.
The imperfect, but enlightened Bearcats Front Office of Eric Bouchard, Jim Koss, Theron Sawchuk, and Ana Berenguer can take a bow for making this all possible.
That鈥檚 a wrap on the 2019鈥�20 season. I can鈥檛 wait until next year. Look for their banner hanging from the rafters, and I鈥檒l see you in the stands.
