OUTLOOK - A trio of local hockey players certainly went the distance in a top tournament played out in Alberta.
Hallie Sincennes and Eden Laliberte, who go to school at LCBI High School, as well as Ava Clark, who goes to Outlook High School, play for the local Delisle Bruins team, who ventured out to Calgary at the end of November to play in the WickFest tournament, a female hockey festival tournament that was spearheaded by sport legend Hayley Wickenheiser 14 years ago.
Hayley had a dream that became a reality with the first Wickenheiser Festival in 2010, and since then, more than 25,000 girls have improved their hockey sense, learned life-long skills and made lasting friends while participating in this celebrated and prestigious sports festival.
Competing in the Under-18 Silver Division, the Bruins took on all comers and managed to turn them away starting on November 22, when the team took on the Inferno Blaze and came out the winners at a score of 8-1. From there, the Bruins kept up their winning streak, with victories against the Beaverlodge Blades on November 23 at a score of 2-0 and a win against the Glacier Avalanche later that same day at a score of 3-0.
Delisle's game against the Grande Prairie Knights on November 24 would decide whether they were headed for the gold medal final, and by the time the game was wrapped and the Bruins were the winners at a score of 3-1, the victory slotted the girls in to the final against some previous opponents in the tournament, the Glacier Avalanche. Both teams tried their best, but the Avalanche just couldn't seem to get ahead of the Bruins as the local girls bested them at a score of 4-1, claiming the gold medal in the division.
Racking up 20 impressive goals throughout the tournament compared to their overall competition's three, the undefeated Bruins seemed to play as if the gold medal was all but a guarantee at the conclusion of the tournament.