The bantam A Thompson King Miners travelled to Saskatoon Feb. 12-14 for the annual Saskatoon Winter Classic tournament with teams from Saskatchewan and Alberta. Thompson was the lone Manitoban participant.

Friday night against the Calgary Westwood Warriors, the Miners came out flying, setting the tone by playing the body tough and moving the puck very well. They were able to contain the Warriors in their end for the majority of the first period. The refs didn’t seem to like the Miners’ intensity, as they were assessed four minor penalties, but managed to lead 1-0 at the break after Nicholas Kraychuk streaked in and scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 18:11.

In the second period, the Miners kept the Warriors at bay and it seemed to frustrate them. The Warriors were penalized four times in the second period and the King Miners scored four goals. Captain Zach Beaver got things started at the eight-minute mark, set up by Jory Ross, then added another, on the power play, at the 15-minute mark assisted by Kraychuk and Cody Dawson. Less than a minute later, the Miners’ fourth goal of the game came from Erik Campbell, set up by Kraychuk and Ross. With less than two minutes left in the period, Jonah Babulic buried a one-timer from Beaver. The Warriors squeaked one past the Miners’ netminder Craig Moss in the second, so Thompson took a 5-1 lead into the third period.

The Warriors got one more on the power play in the third period as Thompson recorded the 5-2 win.

Saturday morning, the Miners took on the Regina Rockies in a penalty-filled affair with a scoreless first period.

The second period saw the Miners assessed four more minor penalties but Kraychuk scored on another shorthanded breakaway. The King Miners killed off all the penalties but surrendered two even-strength goals, giving Regina a 2-1 lead at the break.

The third period saw four more minor penalties for the Miners, who killed every one of them, but couldn’t capitalize on their only power play and lost 2-1. Nick Haney was in the net for the loss.

The third game of the weekend saw the Miners take on the Moose Jaw Ice Breakers in a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Miners were assessed two penalties minutes and managed to kill them off before opening the scoring at the 14-minute mark on a goal by Riley Cummings, assisted by Ceian Ropson. The Ice Breakers notched two of their own to take a 2-1 lead into the first period break.

In the second period, the Miners stayed out of the box and capitalized on two scoring chances to retake the lead. Beaver tied things up, assisted by Kraychuk and Campbell. The Miners went ahead on a goal by Kraychuk, set up by Beaver and Erick Miller. The Ice Breakers tied it 3-3 with two minutes remaining in the second period.

The third period saw the Miners pick up their tempo and play most of the period in Moose Jaw’s end, going ahead on Kraychuk’s second goal at the 12-minute mark, with assists to Beaver and Miller, to win the game 4-3 and secure a berth in the semifinal. Haney recorded the win in the Miners’ net.

On Sunday morning, the Miners played against the Regina Rockies once again. The game was very intense and the boys came out flying and the tables seemed to turn as the Miners took the body and Regina started retaliating and taking penalties. The Miners opened the scoring at the 15-minute mark as Beaver cut in from the corner and went upstairs on Regina’s goalie. The Miners were assessed four minors once again but managed to kill them all off, taking a 1-0 lead into the break.

The Rockies were assessed seven minor penalties in the second period but the Miners couldn’t capitalize on the power play, running into a very hot goaltender. The score remained 1-0 going into the second period break.

The Miners picked up their second goal of the game on a power play to open the third, as Kraychuk scored, assisted by Beaver and Campbell. The Rockies spoiled Moss’s shutout bid, scoring from the point on a deflection with three minutes remaining, but the Miners and Moss came away with a 2-1 victory.

The championship game saw the Miners take on the Sherwood Park Stars from Edmonton, who went 3-0 in the round robin. The Miners came out flying and set the tone early on, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Dawson at the eight-minute mark of the opening frame. Just a minute later, Beaver gave them a two-goal lead set up by Kraychuk.

The second period seem to bring life to the Stars as the Miners were assessed three penalties to Sherwood Park’s one. With 15 seconds remaining in the period, the Stars scored their first to cut the lead in half.

The Miners ran into penalty trouble again in the third but Kraychuk scored his third shorthanded goal of the tournament to regain the Miners’ two-goal lead. The Stars scored again on the power play at the 15-minute mark to draw within one. With just 1:33 remaining in the game, the Miners were penalized, prompting the Stars’ coach to pull his goalie for a two- man advantage, but Beaver intercepted a long stretch pass at centre ice and scored an empty-netter make the final score 4-2 for the Miners, as Haney recorded the win in net.

The next action for the bantam A King Miners will during provincials in Thompson on March 5-7.