The Okotoks Midget A Oilers didn’t defend their title at their home tournament, but they got something that will help them in the long run — tough competition.

A member of the Okotoks Bantam B Oilers skates up the ice against the Fort Saskatchewan Fury Sunday at the Murray Arena during the Okotoks Female Hockey Classic. photo by Bruce Campbell

The Oilers were beaten 4-1 by the Edmonton Havoc in the Midget A final of the second annual Okotoks Female Hockey Classic on Sunday at the Centennial Arena in Okotoks.

“This is an awesome tournament,” said Oilers captain Shelby Haiste. “We played really strong, had our ups-and-downs, but we were able to overcome them.”

The Oilers finished with a win, one loss and two ties in the round-robin games. Their lone win was a 2-0 triumph over the Havoc. However, fatigue played havoc with the Oilers in the final.

“We were tired for the final game and we were missing some players,” Haiste said.

She stressed the high-level of competition in the tournament will help the Oilers in the future.

Okotoks has dominated their league play and are undefeated in the Central Alberta Hockey League.

“We don’t ever get to see teams from Calgary, Edmonton or Medicine Hat,” Haiste said. “This tournament helps us realize that we aren’t the best hockey team in the world and that we are going to have to play our best when we come up against tough competition.”

Oilers coach Rob Schultz agreed the tournament will do nothing but help his club.

“The quality of hockey was great this weekend,” Schultz said. “The girls had to dig deep — this was the best hockey we have played all year. I think all our games were by one or two goals or a tie except for the final.

“We just ran out of gas. The Havoc is a solid team… It’s not so bad losing, when you have close games against quality teams. This was great for the girls.”

The Okotoks Minor Hockey Association had two teams reach the finals, but both had to settle for silver.

In the Peewee A final the Okotoks Oilers were beaten 6-2 by Fort Saskatchewan.

There were more than 20 teams in the tournament coming from across Alberta as well as Montana.

It was so big just one community couldn’t handle it — even if it has three rinks like Okotoks.

The Black Diamond community helped out as the Oilfields Arena was used for the tourney as well.

Tournament director Carolyn Mercier said the hard work by the numerous volunteers was worth it.

“It was a great weekend,” she said. “The girls showed a lot of sportsmanship on the ice and the hockey was very good.”

She said she received positive feedback from the out-of-town teams — many of which indicated they would be back next year.

“Oh yes, we will be back next year,” she said. “This is an annual tournament.”

The results of the final games of the second annual Okotoks Female Classic:

Atom: Calgary Cougars 6, Olds Thunder 3

Peewee A: Ft. Saskatchewan Fury 6, Okotoks Oilers 2

Peewee B: Sherwood Park won the division with four straight wins

Bantam A: Ft. Saskatchewan Fury 7, Edmonton Dynamite 1

Bantam B: Edmonton Warriors 3, Airdrie Lightning 2

Midget: Edmonton Havoc 4, Okotoks Oilers 1

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