The Cochrane Rockies were a shootout goal away from winning their home hockey tournament Feb. 1. But Vermillion managed to sneak away with the win in the midget girl’s final at the 2015 Cochrane Rockies Peewee/Midget girl’s hockey tournament at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
After three periods of hockey and a five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime, the game was knotted 0-0.
It went to the shootout with the first round of five solving nothing. So it went to a second, sudden-death shootout where Vermillion out-scored Cochrane 3-2 to claim the title.
“We took the play to them 3-on-3,” said Rockies Tier 2 girl’s coach Morrie Goetjen. “I just can’t believe we didn’t score 3-on-3.”
The four-team midget bracket featured Tier 2 girl’s teams from Vermillion, Sherwood Park, Lloydminster and Cochrane.
“These kids are just playing for the love of the game,” Goetjen said. “This isn’t just about the game of hockey. It’s about creating better citizens. Hockey is the vehicle we use to teach this.
“And they’re learning the game. If I was coaching an elite boy’s team, I’d coach them the same way.”
The Rockies went undefeated in the round-robin, blanking Lloydminster 5-0, tying Sherwood Park 4-4 and downing Vermillion 4-1 to advance to the tourney final.
The local tournament is a great way to showcase Tier 2 midget and peewee girl’s hockey and Cochrane Minor Hockey’s effort to ensure all players at all levels have a place to play.
“The tournament was great,” Goetjen said. “The level of competition was so even. I think the other teams got a bit of a lesson coming here in that it’s not about running the opposing team to the back end of the rink. There actually is some skill involved. And we showed that.”
Goetjen’s team has seven first-year players. The Rockies play in the Rocky Mountain Female Hockey League and are tied for third place with Okotoks and two points behind second-place Strathmore.
On the peewee side of the Rockies female tournament, the locals were unable to pull out a win in round-robin play.
