It couldn’t get much sweeter for the Irma Aces hosting the U13 Tier 3 provincials last weekend. But the team then went on to win the provincial title in front of a home town crowd on Sunday.
The Aces hosted the 2024 Hockey Alberta Provincial Championship Tournament at the Irma Arena March 21-24. They played to win all weekend and were rewarded by clinching the gold in a championship face off with Hughenden Jets.
Games started Thursday with the Aces shutting out the St. Albert Silverbacks 11-0.
The opening ceremonies on Friday afternoon featured a light show flashing around the arena as each team skated onto the ice in a darkened arena.
Irma Mayor Mervin Firkus gave the official greeting on behalf of the village, along with remarks from Mike Soucy. Soucy also performed the official puck drop with Aces and Smoky River players facing off.
The Aces then played Smoky River Pirates and handily won the game10-2. In fact, Irma’s only defeat in the tournament was on Saturday against the Cochrane Rockies where they lost 8-4. But the Aces quickly rallied and came back strong for the next day and their winning streak continued to the finals.
Playoffs Sunday morning saw the Hughenden Jets defeat Cochrane Rockies 6-3 (Pool B) in the early game, and the Aces defeat Foremost Flyers 4-2 in Pool A. This left the Aces and Jets to face off in the Final. In an exciting finish the Aces defeated the Jets 5-3 to take gold at their own tournament.
Other participants included the Bow River Bruins and Manning Comets for a total of eight teams in all. The best players in Alberta contributed to a weekend of fast paced hockey action for all the fans who attended.
Patricia Harcourt
Editor
