The Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings are the 2014 National AAA Female Midget Hockey champions taking home the Esso Cup after a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Thunder on April 28 in Stoney Creek, Ontario.
"We went in a week ago and hoped to be competitive. We did our best and knew we fit," said Head Coach Chad Kish.
On April 25, the Gold Wings entered the semi-finals in second position where they met the Sudbury Lady Wolves, a rematch of the game that opened the Esso Cup tournament.
The Gold Wings defeated the Lady Wolves in a 3-0 decision. Bailee Bourassa started the scoring in the second period off the stick of Cassidy Pirlot.
Pirlot banked the second goal for the Gold Wings on a power play from Bourassa and Jenica Whitrow.
The third goal came at 7:57 of the third period when Ashten Sinclair fed the puck to Paige Smith who found the back of the net.
The win took the Gold Wings to the gold medal game against the Edmonton Thunder, who had defeated the host Stoney Creek Sabres 2-1, the only team to beat the Gold Wings in the tournament, in their semi-final game.
Tessa Wilson started the scoring in the first period, with the assist to Dempsey.
They doubled their lead early in the second period with Bourassa banking a shot from Jenica Whitrow.
The lone goal in the gold medal game for the Thunder came at 7:01 of the third period on a power play.
Gold Wings net minder Jane Kish stopped 29 shots on goal in the final game of the tournament.
"I told the girls we're going to enjoy it and take everything we possibly can from this week," said Kish. "This was a full team effort, and the best team won."
The Edmonton Thunder is the only team to reach the Esso Cup in each of the six year of its existence with two silver medals and three bronze, only missing medal placement in 2009.
The Sudbury Lady Wolves beat host Stoney Creek Sabres 3-2 for the bronze.
The Gold Wings' triumph is the third major national hockey championship for Weyburn, with the Weyburn Red Wings taking the national men's junior A title in 1984 and again in 2005 when the Red Wings hosted the Royal Bank Cup.
At city council on April 28, Kish announced the team would be putting in a bid to host the 2016 or 2017 Esso Cup.
