One of two teams representing their community, the Battlefords Barons (2) went undefeated on their road to the Novice Step League championship. The team will have a banner presentation at the start of next season. (submitted photo/Carla Bernier)

By Martin Martinson

Battlefords Barons top league

Barons claim Novice league championship

Mar 15, 2019 | 9:48 AM

The Battlefords Barons (2) are Novice Step League Champions.

Coming off an undefeated regular season, the Barons (2) headed into the postseason brim with confidence and rolling like a finely-tuned machine.

The playoffs were set up in a two-game, total goal format, meaning the team that scored more goals collectively over the two games of a given series would move on to the next round.

After defeating Maidstone handily in the quarterfinals to kick off their postseason run, outscoring them 23-5 over the two games, the Barons played the other Battlefords team, Battlefords (1) in the semifinals.

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Defeating them, too, by a 19-5 margin, the win punched Battlefords (2)’s ticket to the finals against Meadow Lake.

In the championship round, the Battlefords again proved just too much to handle for the opposition, once again steamrolling their opponent to take the series, 21-5 the two-game final.

Calder Reiter of the Battlefords Barons recives the league trophy following his team’s undefeated run to the league championnship. (submitted photo/Carla Bernier)

Despite the evident offensive firepower well on display in the playoffs, Barons head coach Scott Maunula said what impressed him even more than the team’s gaudy offensive totals, was the collective group’s ability to band together as a team and play cohesively as a unit.

“The biggest thing with our kids, which is hard to teach at a young age, was playing as a team,” Maunula said. “The puck movement passing the puck, [and] getting it through the neutral zone [was key] instead of just one guy trying to skate it end to end.

“Once we started doing that as a team,” he continued, “we noticed that we had a lot more success. We started scoring a lot more goals, because obviously, we had a lot more rushes, and that was the biggest thing.”

In addition to praising his team’s comradery and willingness to embrace teamwork, Maunula also credits the undefeated campaign and subsequent championship to cap off the year, to his players work ethic and hunger to improve every time the group stepped on the ice.

“I’d say it was just due to the hard work of the kids,” Maunula said. “During the games they really enjoyed what they were doing and they worked hard, not only in the games, but in the practices. All the kids came a long way this season. Everyone really improved in different parts of their game and made the team stronger as the season went on.”

Although many on the team will be aging out of novice, and graduating on to the Atom hockey level next fall, Maunula will certainly remember this group as the first in his five years coaching to go undefeated through the regular season and playoffs alike, to clinch their title as 2019 Novice Step League champions.

“They worked hard and they listened; they learned and did well,” the coach said.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1