The Medicine Hat U15AAA SEAC Tigers took first place at the 51st Annual Hockey Hounds tournament, beating the Balgonie Prairie Storm 4-3 Sunday afternoon.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
For the first time in 25 years, a local team was the last one standing at the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds U15AAA tournament.
The Medicine Hat U15AAA South East Athletic Club Tigers were victorious this weekend, beating the Balgonie Prairie Storm 4-3 Sunday to win the 51st Hounds tournament, the first Medicine Hat champion since 1999 and just the second in the event’s history.
“It’s great to see for the players, they put a hard effort in on the weekend,” head coach Mike Mueller said. “It’s a tough crowning, five games in just over two days. I’m really happy for the players coming together and getting it done.
“A lot of work goes into this tournament, they do a great job and we’re thankful for it to have it in our hometown, with our home fans and the support that we get. Hats off to the Hockey Hounds.”
The Tigers led 3-0 after 40 minutes off second-period goals from Lincoln Stemkey, Chase Droeske and captain Carter Gilchrist. SEAC’s captain played in the Hounds tournament last season, a seventh-place finish.
“It’s awesome even just to win a tournament,” Gilchrist said. “But it’s awesome to win the home one, it’s even better.”
Balgonie drew back into the game with a pair of goals in the third period before Carter Jarvis found twine. The Storm scored with less than five minutes left, setting up a tense finish for the Tigers. Mueller liked how his team weathered the Storm and maintained the lead.
“We didn’t panic, we were 3-2, came up with a really big power play goal there and we just stayed the course,” Mueller said. “I was pretty happy the fact that we didn’t panic, we just stuck with it.”
Starter Paxton Smigelski held Balgonie at bay, finishing with 32 saves, securing the win for the Tigers.
“It feels good,” Smigelski said about the win. “Our first game I don’t think I played very well, so it was big comeback for me and nice to see the team win.”
Medicine Hat had a perfect tournament, coming back to beat the Weyburn Red Wings 3-2 on Thursday. Mueller says that win was an early turning point for the resilient group.
“They work hard and they believe in each other, and that’s gonna carry us a long way,” Mueller said. “We’re really happy with the weekend, obviously, and we can build on a ton of positive things here for the rest of the season.”
After the opening-night victory, they put together a trio of shutouts to punch a ticket to the finals, beating RINK Winnipeg 9-0 Friday morning, blanking Prairie Hockey Academy 10-0 later in the day.
The Tigers beat the West Central Wheat Kings 8-0 on Saturday for the spot in the finals.
Smigelski split duties in net with Jake Druar, holding the opposition to five goals while the Tigers’ offence tallied 34 on the weekend.
“It always feels good to have a solid duo in net,” Smigelski said.
The Tigers had three players receive awards in the 12-team tournament, Gilchrist and forward Lucas Fisher were named all-stars, and Canaan Fleck was named the most sportsmanlike player of the weekend.
Gilchrist was awarded the $2,500 scholarship for one SEAC player from the Maser family and the Medicine Hat Tigers, a recognition he was honoured by.
“It’s just a little pat on the back for some of the hard work I’ve put in,” Gilchrist said.
The weekend’s win caps off a four-year run of the Tigers finishing in the top-10 of the tournament. They also finished fourth in 2021 and took third place in 2023.
The U15AAA SEAC Tigers entered the tournament with a 4-7 record and have a pair of games on the road this weekend. Both Smigelski and Gilchrist say the success at the Hounds tournament will propel them in the rest of the Alberta Elite Hockey League season.
“It helps us a lot going into the season and the next couple of parts of the season, it’ll definitely set us up for some good stuff in the future,” Gilchrist said.
“Hopefully it takes a step forward for our season, we can get some more wins and maybe make the playoffs,” Smigelski said.
