A gold medal win for Ontario South girls squad

A pair of teams that have become accustomed to celebrating were doing so again at this year's National Aboriginal Hockey Championships.
The Ontario South girls' squad once again won the gold medal in its category, at the Canadian tournament, which concluded on May 3.
This marked the sixth time in the tournament's seven-year history that the Ontario South side has won the girls' division.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan won the boys' grouping. This marked the third time the western province has emerged victorious in this division.
This year's NAHC, which attracted 10 boys' and seven girls' teams, was hosted by the Garden River First Nation, near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Ontario South registered a convincing 6-1 win over their Ontario North counterparts in the girls' gold-medal game.
But Ontario South coach Dwight Bero said his side, which won all six of its matches at the tournament, did not necessarily have an easy time of it.
"Every team has improved immensely," he said. "There's no way you can go into a tournament like this and be overconfident in any game. I know some teams did go into it overconfident and they paid the price."
Bero had served as an assistant coach for the Ontario South squad in the last two years. Winning the nationals as a head coach had added significance for him.
"Sure, it does mean more," he said. "I had my gals with me and it might be their last year in it."
Alley and Katie Bero, 17-year-old twins, were members of the Ontario South team. But only Alley played in the tournament. Katie attended the nationals but did not play due to an unspecified disciplinary reason.
Another individual who was not able to take part was Ontario South assistant coach Greg Clause. He was too ill to attend the tournament as he was at his Oshweken home battling pancreatic cancer. Clause died the day after the tournament ended.
Dwight Bero said some of the Ontario South players were not told how gravely sick Clause was until right before their championship final.
"We dedicated the final game to him," Bero said. "He was there for some inspiration for us."
At one point it appeared the Ontario South club might not even advance to the gold-medal game. That's because it was trailing 3-2 heading into the final period of its semi-final game versus British Columbia.
Ontario South did manage to tie the score with a powerplay marker.
But it wasn't until the final minute of the period that Ontario South scored the winning goal. It then added an empty-net insurance goal in its 5-3 victory.
"To me, that had to be the hardest game," Bero said.
Ontario South then benefited in the final as its players had plenty of experience in a championship game. The club's 20-player roster included 15 returnees from the 2007 champion squad.
As for the Saskatchewan boys' team, it eked out a 4-3 victory over a Quebec-based club named Eastern Door and the North (EDN) in its gold-medal contest.
EDN had won the boys' crown at last year's tournament in Prince Albert, Sask.
As for Saskatchewan, it had captured the bronze medal on home ice last year. But it had previously won the gold medal at the 2003 and '06 tournaments.
Courage Bear, who served as the manager, felt this was not the most talented boys' team that has represented Saskatchewan at the nationals.
"But they were a special group of guys willing to work hard," he said. "And I think we went in there thinking we had confidently selected the best group of the players available."
The Saskatchewan boys' squad played seven games at the nationals. Its only setback occurred in round-robin action when it was defeated 3-1 by EDN.
Bear was obviously happy to get another shot at EDN in the final, and that time emerge victorious.
"For sure, when you beat the champs from the year before it's special," he said. "I'm sure (EDN) felt like we felt last year when we came in as the defending champs. Everybody seemed to have a target on us."
In this year's gold-medal game, Bear said it was rather key that his squad got off to a good start.
Saskatchewan led 3-1 after the opening period.
"We capitalized on our chances early which helped us," Bear said.
And Bear's team was still ahead 4-3 after 40 minutes of play. Neither squad was able to score in the third period.
Bear had an inkling early on that his club was capable of winning the tournament.
"I thought that after the opening game of the tournament," he said. "Our guys played well. And they kept getting better as the tournament was progressing."
Saskatchewan opened up with a 6-4 victory over a tough Alberta squad. Alberta went on to win the bronze medal, downing Ontario South 9-7 in the third-place contest.
Saskatchewan also had a pair of lopsided victories in round-robin action. It blanked the North West Territories 12-0 and thumped the Newfoundland and Labrador squad 16-1. Saskatchewan also had a convincing 10-3 victory over Ontario North in its quarter-final match. And it advanced to the gold-medal game with a 7-4 win over Alberta in its semi-final outing.
Bear believes for the most part the majority of the clubs that participated at the nationals were evenly matched.
"It was really tight," he said. "I think any of the teams that made it to the quarter-finals, in both the girls' and boys' divisions, had a chance to get a medal or even win the gold. That's how close it was."