That's a wrap on another exciting WRBHA PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP tournament! Calgary led the way with 3 golds and 4 silvers, while Edmonton picked up 3 golds and a silver. Sherwood Park picked up its first ever gold medal, and Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat each earned a silver.
CGY VIPERS 5 CGY TUNE SQUAD 0
After sleep-walking through the round-robin and racking up a perfect 3-0 record (all three CGY teams emerged with 3-0 records), the Calgary Vipers nearly watched it all slip away in the semi-finals versus the Edmonton Havoc. A goal by Jenn Watt of the Havoc, just 27 seconds into the contest almost held up for the entire game. But a late body contact penalty by the Havoc gave the Vipers their fourth powerplay of the game, one which they would finally convert on with just 77 ticks left on the clock. Kenzie Lausberg would then provide the game-winner in the extra frame sending the Vipers to the gold-medal game, where they would face the reigning B National Champion Calgary Tune Squad. The Vipers would score barely 5 minutes in on a powerplay marker from Rachel Rochat, and tack on a second goal 61 seconds later. From there they would strike three more times in the second half, ending the Tune Squad's hopes of double gold. This is the Vipers first ever Provincial Gold medal.
Top Goalie - Laura Epp, CGY Vipers
Top Forward - Jamie Guislan, CGY Vipers
Top Defense - Jaclyn Miller, CGY Tune Squad
EDM ASSASSINS 2 EDM LOCKDOWN 1
A perfect 3-0 round-robin record, including a 7-0 drubbing of the Edmonton Lockdown, sent the Assassins straight to the Women's C Finals. It would be the EDM Lockdown who would ultimately meet them there, this time bringing a much better effort holding the Assassins to just two goals. The pair of goals, both scored by Kaitlyn Steele-Pylypow, would be enough for the Assassins to walk away with a slim 2-1 victory and the 2023 WRBHA WOMEN'S C Championship. This is the Assassins first ever Provincial Gold medal.
Top Goalie - Danielle Findlay, EDM Assassins
Top Forward - Kelly Boudreau, EDM Assassins
Top Defense - Leanne Lyons, EDM Lockdown
CGY GUMBALLS 3 CGY WILDCATS 0
The Gumballs ended a perfect tournament (6-0) with a 3-0 shutout victory over the Wildcats. The Gumballs steamrolled the D Division, outscoring their opponents 21-2 in the process. Goaltenders Nicole Sudworth and Stephanie Tang allowed just one goal each enroute to the teams first ever WRBHA Provincial gold medal.
Top Goalie - Paige Speers, CGY Wildcats
Top Forward - Chelsey Stump, CGY Gumballs
Top Defense - Jade Getz, CGY Wildcats
EDM SAVAGES 5 CGY PHANTOMS 3
For the third consecutive WRBHA Provincial Championship, the Edmonton Savages are the gold-medal winners. A perfect 6-0, outscoring their opponents 28-9, and finishing it all off with an impressive 5-3 victory over the Calgary Phantoms (the back-to-back silver medalist winners), the Savages have continued to add to their already overcrowded trophy case. Six Tier 1 Provincial titles over the last nine tournaments has made them the most dominant team of the past decade, if not all-time.
Top Goalie - Chris Curr, EDM Savages
Top Foward - Scott Doram, EDM Savages
Top Defenseman - Lee Jubinville, EDM Savages
EDM KILLER BEES 4 MH OUTLAWS 0
With their 4-0 victory over the Medicine Hat Outlaws, the Edmonton Killer Bees have now captured a gold medal for the third straight year. In 2019, it was Tier 3 gold; while in 2022 and 2023 the gold came in the Tier 2 division. The Bees went a perfect 4-0, knocking off, including a combined 11-0 in their two games versus the Medicine Hat Outlaws. The Outlaws were in search of the first ever gold medal for a Medicine Hat-based team in a men's tier above Tier 3. Despite coming up short, they will walk away with a silver medal for their efforts.
Top Goalie - Marcus Johnson, EDM Killer Bees
Top Forward - Tyler Kirk, EDM Killer Bees
Top Defenseman - Darren Glasgo, MH Outlaws
SHP BALLHOGZ 6 CGY BLAZERS 3
The BallHogz earned themselves the distinct priviledge of being the first ever WRBHA Provincial Championship gold-medal winner from the city of Sherwood Park, and they did it in convincing fashion. A perfect 3-0 round-robin record, followed by two more wins in the playoffs...paired with a +19 (27-8) goal differential, made the BallHogz one of the most dominant teams of the entire weekend. Their opponent, the Calgary Blazers, walked into the final game also sporting a perfect record (4-0), and even went into the half tied with the BallHogz at three apiece. But a goal by Jacob Winch, just past the midway mark of the second half, would prove to be the difference...with the final two goals being buried into an empty-net, giving the BallHogz the Gold and forcing the Blazers to settle for their 2nd Silver medal of the last three provincial tournaments.
Top Goalie - Derek Pellizzon, CGY Blazers
Top Forward - Matt Pelletier, CGY Blazers
Top Defenseman - Blake Dehr, SHP BallHogz
CGY PARTY BUS 3 GP COBRAS 2
They met in the second game of the round-robin. The Grande Prairie Cobras jumped out to 2-0 first half lead, added a third in the second half...and went on to win 3-2. Thirty-two hours later, they met again. The Grande Prairie Cobras jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half...but this time, the wheels on the Party Bus went round and round...as the team from Calgary ripped off three-straight goals, the last of which found the back of the net with just 2:21 left in regulation, lifting the Party Bus to its first ever WRBHA Provincial gold-medal.
Top Goalie - Chris Van Beekveld, GP Cobras
Top Forward - Brett Krawchuk, CGY Party Bus
Top Defenseman - TBD
