Tigers win second consecutive provincial title
- Details
- Published on Monday, March 11, 2013
By: Lanny Stewart
myWestman.ca
The Neepawa Tigers are back-to-back provincial champions.
The Tigers defeated the host Carman Cougars 4-1 in the AA provincial high school hockey championship final on Saturday afternoon.
"It's an awesome feeling and we are so proud of these guys," said Tigers head coach Mike Adams. "The first one is a special accomplishment but the second one is so much harder to get -- the expectations and the pressure really is amplified.
"Everyone is prepared for you and wants to knock you out of the tournament," he continued.
The Tigers, who were the No. 1 ranked team heading into the tournament, found themselves down early before Neepawa captain Kyle McDonald tied the contest at one apiece with less than a minute to go in the first period.
The Tigers had 40 minutes left to prove just how badly they wanted their second consecutive provincial title.
"We knew that Carman was going to come out of the gate really hard being the host team," said Adams. "We just told the guys to keep their effort level up and good things would happen."
The Tigers weathered another big push by the Cougars early in the second period until Matthew Sneesby netted the go-ahead tally at the 13:07 mark. Garett Rempel, who later was named the players choice award winner and tournament MVP, scored late in the period to give the Tigers a two-goal advantage after 40 minutes of play.
"We started to really get going and finished with a pretty good shutdown game," explained Adams.
The Tigers held the Cougars off the scoresheet yet again in the third and Jesse Adams scored an empty-netter late to ice the game for Neepawa.
Rempel, McDonald, defenceman Cody James and goaltender Grant Graham were named tournament all-stars for Neepawa, who went undefeated at the event, outscoring their opponents 21-7 in the process.
Rempel finished the event with eight goals and 11 points at the event. He scored a whopping five goals for the Tigers in their first game at the event -- a 7-3 win over the Boissevain Broncos.
The Tigers later defeated the Notre Dame/Somerset/Westmount Mustangs 6-1 and would follow that up with a 4-2 win over the Deloraine/Hartney Colts in the semifinal.
The NDSW Mustangs ended up winning the bronze medal, defeating Deloraine/Hartney 4-2.
Meanwhile, the John Taylor Pipers and the Oak Park Raiders will meet in the provincial AAAA championship final Monday night in Winnipeg.
The Brandon-based Crocus Plains Plainsmen took part in the AAAA championship and ended up with a 1-1 record -- failing to advance to the playoff portion of the event.
In photo: Tigers celebrate on the ice with championship pennant moments after winning their second straight provincial A/AA title.
Photo submitted
