The North Island Bantam Eagles travelled over 19 hours, 1,633.8 kilometres to be exact, to the Northwest
interior town of Smithers, B.C. for the opportunity to compete in the Tier 3 Provincial Bantam Hockey
Championships. While the Eagles would come up just short of reaching the semi-finals, they still arrived back
home to the Tri-Port with unforgettable memories that every player on the team will no doubt remember for a
lifetime. "The Eagles played to the end, fought through a short bench, and in their last game just ran out of
gas," said Coach Greg Fox, reflecting on how the Provincial Championships unfolded.Playing to the end is
nothing new for the Eagles. The team has consistently charged head first into battle from the very start of their
season, whether it was holding their own in Tier 2 league play against the other Vancouver Island League
teams, beating the Saanich Braves in a wild, back and forth best-of-three playoff finals in front of a hometown
crowd, or finishing their last Provincial Championship game against the North Shore Winter Club, where they
went out on their shield after injuries and exhaustion finally put an end to their incredible playoff run. "I'm
extremely proud of this team," said Fox. "The goal was to make Provincials from the very start."The Eagles
started off the Provincial Championships on Sunday, March 13, with a frustrating 10-4 loss to the hometown
team the Smithers Storm, where it was the referees who ended up playing a significant factor throughout the
game, severely affecting the Eagles' momentum."It was a very slow paced game, the refs made it clear who
was in charge with a combined total of 83 penalty minutes, 51 to the Eagles," said Fox.The Eagles put the
penalty-filled game behind them, refocused on their goal and prepared for their second game on Monday,
March 14, against the Cranbrook Mustangs, where they got out to a quick start in the 1st period with Matthew
Saunders scoring at 8:54 and Luke Gage adding another goal at 5:31 to take a 2-0 lead. The Mustangs scored
twice after to tie it up, but Clayton Bono netted a goal with 1:50 left to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead.The 2nd
period was a bit of a defensive stalemate, and the Mustangs scored the only goal of the period to tie the game
up 3-3. The Eagles' Devin White managed to get the puck in the net at 11:32 of the 3rd period to take the lead
back, but with only 1:03 left to play, the Mustangs scored to tie it up once again. The Eagles, determined not to
let the game slip from their grasp, fought back and it was Bono who notched his second goal of the game with
only 35 seconds left to pull off the win 5-4."We had a very good start," said Fox. "Unfortunately we struggled to
play within the perimeters of the tournament refs. The team persevered, battled through it and scored late in
the third to win." The Eagles' third game was on Tuesday, March 15, against Dawson Creek, and it was easily
"their best game. Everyone played extremely well," said Fox. The Eagles scored four goals in the 1st period
alone, courtesy of Evan Fox, White, Rhys Dutcyvich, and Carson Strang. Strang netted his second goal of the
game in the 2nd period, and Dutcyvich and Saunders added a goal each in the 3rd period to clench a 7-2 win in
high-scoring, decisive fashion.The Eagles fourth and final game was later on that same day, and this was
where the road unfortunately ended as they lost 12-3 in a hard-fought battle to the previously mentioned North
Shore Winter Club. The Eagles depleted bench "definitely played a role," said Fox. "We were short Elliot
Furney, Payton Laming and Michael Perez, and North Shore was the top ranked team in our pool. It's always
tough when you lose the last game of a season, but we watched a very tired, short bench do everything they
could to win in what turned out to be a very lopsided game. None of these players are okay with losing, that's
what makes them great competitive athletes, but in the dressing room afterwards, we watched the players
support each other and a few minutes later, they were all laughing and telling stories."With the Eagles'
Provincial Championships run officially over, the team headed back home with their heads held high, knowing
that in spite of the odds against them, they still put forth their best effort to try and win. And that alone makes
them winners, regardless of what the game sheet says. When asked if he had anything else to say about the
the Eagles season, Fox was quick to reply that none of this would have been possible "without the tremendous
support we received from our local communities. Thank you to everyone who donated money, bought raffle
tickets, and gave us bottles," adding that he would also like to thank all "the coaches, managers, fundraisers,
supportive parents, fans who came to watch us play, non-parent volunteers and the referees. The Eagles did
their utmost to represent the North Island."