The Northwest Sharks shut Moose Jaw out 3-0 last night to defend their title as Provincial Bantam A Champions (Facebook/BMHA- Battlefords Minor Hockey Association)

By Brady Lang

defending the title

Bantam Sharks win second provincial championship in a row

Apr 1, 2019 | 2:03 PM

For the second straight year, the Northwest Sharks are provincial champions.

The team outlasted the Moose Jaw Mavericks last night winning 3-0 to take the provincial crown, sweeping not only the series, but going undefeated throughout the season. The team dominated throughout the season, and outscored their opponents 139-26 in just 22 games.

Assistant Coach Seth Bloom attributed stellar play to sound and consistent defence.

“We minimized opportunities for the other team, and our goalie (Mackenzie Bloom) had a really strong season,” he said. “When we would break down, she stopped it.”

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Bloom had nine shutouts throughout the year and had a miniscule 1.15 goals against average. On the other side, North Battleford product Keyra Buziak had 53 goals in 22 regular season games, and overall in 30 games reached 94 points. The first-year still has one year left of eligibility at the bantam level. Coach Bloom called her a “phenomenal talent” with a bright future. Buziak is the younger sister to current North Star Braydon.

Bloom said the season began with many question marks as there was a drastic turnover in players. Eight players that were eligible ended up leaving the team at the last minute to play in other places in the province, as well as Alberta. The Sharks didn’t let that bother them, and continued to look forward. Bloom said the 2017-18 edition of the team left big shoes to fill, but the ladies stood up and filled them quite well.

“They had the perfect season as well, and it cast quite a big shadow considering we were (mostly) first years,” he said. “They gelled really quickly and genuinely liked being together.”

Bloom said the group was easy to coach and added most of the team’s unity came organically.

Once the team made it to the provincial finals, players were tasked with a brand-new opponent in the Mavericks. The Mavericks were also undefeated on the year, setting the stage for quite a three-game series.

“We knew they’d be good, and they really were. They were an exceptional team, incredibly well coached,” he said. “They had incredible team speed. They could fly.”

Although Moose Jaw may have been good, it just took two games for the Sharks to earn their second banner in as many years. In game one, the Mavericks pushed the Sharks to double overtime before Austyn Eaton scored the winner 10:24 in.

In game two, it was a different story.

The Sharks came out and scored one in the first and two in the third, while Bloom stood tall, stopping all 25 shots fired her way in a 3-0 win.

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brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangBFN