Teams thrive during intense nine-day tournament

This was exactly how the crowning day of Esso Minor Hockey Week is supposed to be celebrated.

Championship game … Packed house, and panicked fans … A goal in the final seven seconds to tie the affair … Three-on three overtime … Then a shootout … And finally, a claim of victory by the Midnapore 5 Mavericks to earn them the champions title of the Bantam 6 Red Division in the annual puck extravaganza.

“It was really exciting,” said Mavericks blueliner Autum Starlight, moments after Saturday’s 5-4 shootout triumph over the Springbank 7 Rockies at Great Plains Arena in southeast Calgary. “In that 3-on-3 overtime, I was the only defence on. I’ve never played a 3-on-3 before, so it was pretty nerve-wracking and exciting.”

Best of all for Autum and her teammates was the way it ended. Two goals for the Mavs in the shootout spelled the difference in the title tilt.

“I feel pretty proud of being captain for these guys,” she said. “I did a speech before the game. It’s nice on a team to get to know each other and get more competitive as you get to know each other.”

That’s the magic of Esso Minor Hockey Week.

The slate is wiped clean for nine days in January, and teams that once struggled often find the mojo to turn it on somehow. Just like the Mavericks. “It’s pretty amazing,” said Mavs star Levi Nzyoka. “Before, in the regular season, we hadn’t won one game. And that Springbank team, the last time we played them, they destroyed us 7-1, I think. It was just an amazing feeling to come out there and play as a team, as one unit, and show them what the Mavericks are about.

“Minor Hockey Week makes your team glue together.”

The excitement was just as big on the next sheet over, even though the final of the Bantam 7 Division was decided long before the final bell.

The Northwest 6 Warriors found the championship chemistry to score a dominant 7-0 victory over the Bow Valley 6 Flames.

“Not really,” said Warriors star Carson Willis, when asked if he thought his crew would win the finale so decisively. “You can’t expect anything, but yeah, we earned this 100 per cent.

“It feels great — I’m at a loss for words.”

The lopsided victory didn’t keep the Warriors from mobbing their goaltender at the buzzer. And the jubilation that followed included family members flocking to the ice to celebrate with players.

Yeah, it’s that big of a deal. It is, after all, billed as the largest minor hockey tournament in the world. And this year’s event — the 48th annual and 39th in partnership with Imperial Oil (Esso) — featured approximately 13,000 kids, 655 teams, 915 games, 2,600 coaches and 4,000 volunteers throughout the week.

In the end, 65 teams were crowned champs of Esso Minor Hockey Week, including the Warriors.