Congratulations to the AAA 13U PeeWee Oildome team as they have really pulled together and are ready to take on the rest of Canada at the Westerns.
All events will be at the Simplot Millennium Park in Brandon, Man. Aug. 16-19.
The Oildomes were scheduled to play Thursday at 12:30 p.m. against a BC team, and follow up with a morning game Friday against Red Deer, Alta. And in the afternoon they were slated to play a team from Saskatoon, Sask.
This team is made up of players from southwest Manitoba:
Ryan Lewis - Virden
Foxx McColl, Kurt Rookes, and Coach Travis McColl - Elkhorn
Lucas Maddess, Declan VanMacklebergh, and Coach Shawn Maddess - Deloraine
Brett Laing, Griffin Albrecht, Tyler Robertson and Josh Fluker - Boissevain
Regan Anderson - Souris
Connor Martin - Wawanesa
Dawson Andries and Mason De Ruyck - Killarney
Managers – Travis and Holly Laing - Boissevain
Start of season
The team started out their season at the Triple Crown Showdown on the Canada Day weekend in Portage La Prairie, and ended up with 4 wins and 1 loss. They showed up very strong and played aggressively throughout the weekend.
Lots of practice and a couple of exhibition games led them to a successful weekend at the Provincial Qualifiers in Minnedosa.
Unfortunately, rain shortened the tournament, but the deciding games for Provincials were able to be played.
The outcome of the weekend games put the Oildome boys right where they wanted to be and with 2 wins and 1 loss they earned their ticket to Provincials.
The Manitoba AAA Provincials were held in West St. Paul, Man. The Oildome team started off strong and no sign of backing down. They closed up the tournament with 4 wins and 2 losses.
A 9-7 loss to Brandon in a tough gold medal game earned them the silver medal and at the same time earned their spot at the Western Canadians to represent Manitoba.
Teams from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba will be battling it out to become the 2018 Western Canadian Champions.
“The team has so many multi-position players that it makes some of the coaching decisions a bit easier when it comes to the tough battles on the field,” says Coach Travis McColl.
“The energy on and off the diamond that these players displayed at Provincials resonated and that is what got them to where they are today. They all stepped up their games to the level that they needed to compete and we look forward to that going into Westerns,” states McColl.
“Coach Maddess and myself are extremely proud of the efforts put in and it goes to show that hard work is definitely paying great dividends for these guys.”
