It was a great weekend in the pool for the Estevan Sharks water polo teams as five teams travelled to Saskatoon this past weekend for their winter provincials and they came home with five medals overall.
The atom girls and the bantam boys both won gold, while the atom boys, bantam girls and cadet girls all won bronze. Cam Gillingham, Estevan’s only cadet-age boy, played in the open men’s division at the tournament.
Throughout the two-day tournament all age divisions of the Sharks worked hard and performed well.
The bantam boys team, coached by Dave Dzeryk and Jason Dalzeil, started off the weekend with a strong win over the Weyburn Hurricanes. All boys on the team scored in this opening match that left them with a 33-2 victory. The boys then faced off against the Regina Armada Destroyers. The game started off back and forth with the Sharks only having a small lead at half time, but after that the true endurance of the team came through and the boys clinched another victory of 20-10. That left them with one more game on Sunday morning against the stronger Armada Fireship team. The boys took a big 7-1 lead in the first period, but the Fireship team came back strong and by the end of the third period the Sharks were down 8-6. The Sharks found their way back on the scoreboard and the game ended 10-10.
This put the boys in the gold medal game later that morning where once again they played the Armada Fireship team in a close game. The first period was tough for the Sharks as they found themselves behind by two goals and struggling to get past the strong Armada goalie. By the end of the half they were down four goals but once again the strong endurance of the team was seen and the boys fought their way back and in the last few minutes of the game they finally took over the lead and held onto it for a hard-fought 16-13 victory. This is the third straight time that the bantam boys have won gold at provincials.
The U14 bantam girls team consisted of a mix of U12 and U14 athletes played four games against teams with athletes from Regina, Saskatoon and Weyburn. Players were Maria Banulius, Sadie Smith, Alandra Young, Lily Knoll, Emily Tarnes, Jordyn Tarnes, Emily Sauder and Pryzm Gooding. Tayla Gervais and Alianna Young were are on the injured list. The Sharks lead goal-scorers were Banulius, Smith, Sauder and the Tarnes sisters. Knoll made many magnificent saves during the four games. The athletes worked really hard against the stronger teams but came up short in all of their games. They brought home the bronze medal.
The atom girls team played three all-boys teams in the tournament, only losing to a tough Regina team. Veteran players Pryzm Gooding, Jordan Tarnes and Emily Sauter lead the team in goals and steals. Strong mid-pool play by Hailey Tangjerd, Rachel Tober and Hailey Hack helped keep get the team ahead in tight games. Mahlyn Bomerack showed great drive towards the net. Rookie players Jennika Lithincum and Lochlan held up in their positions, with Lochlan getting on the board in two games. They met the Regina Girls team in the gold metal game and won.
The cadet girls, joined by players from Saskatoon, faced two very strong Regina teams. They were able to finish the tournament with a bronze medal.
Ten atom Shark boys played their very best this weekend and came home with a bronze medal. They played two hard fought games on Saturday, and two more Sunday to close out round robin play at 1-3.
As a team with many younger athletes, they showed tremendous development over the weekend and kept many of the games close in score. Strong offensive play was shown by Shiven Sangar and Brody Turner. On defence, Hayden Mainprize and Brooks Milford stopped many progressing plays by the opponents! Mason Yunick, Keegan Kindlein-Minnie and Chase Zohner added strength by the net scoring their first career goals in provincial play.
Bennett Walliser demonstrated remarkable skill within the net, and both Carson Stopanski and Marvin Blue kept the opponents pressed and away from scoring potential. Overall, coaches are very pleased with the progress and eager to continue our rapid improvement as a team. They are proud to come home with our bronze medal this year.
Several Estevan players were also referees for this provincial tournament: Gillingham, Mikayla Hack, Teagan Hack, Alex Andrist and Josie Andrist.
Our league play resumes after the holidays with the mini-atoms and atoms competing next on January 21, 2019 at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Center.
