U18 Bearcats contests highlight a weekend of Jasper Minor Sports matchups
If you were at the Jasper Arena this past weekend for the first annual Jasper Hockey Days weekend, you might have felt a certain buzz.
Was it excitement? Nostalgia? Happiness, pride, nervousness, camaraderie or rivalry? It was all these things and more. It was hockey.
This season is the first since 2017/18 that Jasper has had enough eligible U18 (midget) players to ice a team. And because of the extensive renovations at the Jasper Arena, until this weekend, the U18’s 2024/25 season has been played entirely on the road.
On Friday night spectators filed into the rink to catch the U18 action. Rink fries were flying out of the fryer at Glenda’s and as the Jasper Bearcats and the CR Knights took the ice for warm up, familiar faces filed in. Joining the parents of the players were local teachers, doctors, former hockey players, retired hockey parents—even Jasper the Bear was in the house, sporting a fancy new Bearcats Jersey.
From start to finish, Friday’s game was electric. Let’s just say that the penalty box bench was kept warm all game. The first period was scoreless, despite both teams battling back and forth with fierce determination. Jasper finally got the upper hand in the second period when Drew Kovacs fired a quick shot through a defender, finding the back of the net.
But the celebration was short-lived when the Knights came back and scored just a few minutes later. With plenty of scoring chances in the third period, neither team could break the tie. In total, the Knights had 36 shots on the Bearcats goalie Brady Campbell, and Jasper had 30 shots on the CR goalie. The final score was 1-1, adding another tie to their record so far this season of 2 wins, 2 losses and 3 ties.
Due to the heartbreaking Jasper wildfires in the summer of 2024, the completion of the Jasper Arena and Activity centre renovation was delayed. Because of this, there were not enough weekends left in the season for each team to host their own tournament as they normally would have. Therefore, board members of Jasper Minor Sports decided to dedicate one weekend to hosting a tournament which would include each team in Jasper Minor hockey playing two games against an out-of-town team.
It turned out to be an ideal way to welcome approximately 500 people to our newly renovated arena.
The weekend was thoroughly thought out and well orchestrated. A raffle table was full of wonderful prizes. A hospitality room included games, snacks, and a photo booth. And there were plenty of parent volunteers since every local team was involved.
JMS decided to make Jasper Hockey Days an annual event because it is such a great way to celebrate and showcase all the teams of Jasper Minor Hockey. It couldn’t have been a better weekend for the U18 Jasper Bearcats to make their comeback after seven long years.
From the Jasper Minor Sports board: thank you to all of the arena staff, volunteers, sponsors, coaches, managers, referees, linesmen and Glenda and her team.
Last but not least, thank you to all of the fans!
