Jaguars hosting female Bantam and Midget hockey Provincials

It’s going to be busy at Cold Lake rinks at the end of March.

The city is playing host to Bantam Female B and Midget Female B Provincials on March 19-22 and March 26-29.

The Lakeland Bantam Jaguars weren’t expected to be Provincial hosts, but then things changed this week after no one stepped to the plate.

“They never put in a bid, but they have a really strong team this year. They haven’t lost a game yet and as of a week ago there was no host for the bantam female team,” said Midget Provincials organizer Justin Cornet.

“They’re such a good team it would be a shame not to have a Provincial tournament.”

Now, the push is on to get everything together for both tournaments, which will see hundreds of families come to the Lakeland for both weekends.

They’re hoping businesses can chip in with sponsorships.

“We got a sponsorship letter together and then some sponsorship levels that we kept pretty small this year just due to the economy. Hopefully we can garner some support that way,” he said.

The Lakeland Midget Jaguars are having a successful season in East Central Alberta Female Hockey League play, boasting a 8-4-1 record.

Meanwhile, the Bantam Jaguars are undefeated in nine contests.

Cornet presented a delegation to city council to see if they’ll be able to support.

Mayor Craig Copeland said it’s great to see volunteers step up to run these sorts of tournaments and anticipates a similar sponsorship to what the city gave for boys Bantam hockey Provincials last year.

“Good for the volunteers on the Jaguar hockey clubs to get involved and do two tournaments. That’s going to be a lot for all the volunteers, but certainly, council is very interested in supporting them,” he said.

“We gave $5,000 I think it was to that one. We’re giving a helping hand. When you look at three nights at least in hotels for over 120 athletes and their families for a tournament there.

“We really want to market the facilities that we have for Provincial hockey.”

Cornet is also reaching out to vendors to run a market in the Energy Centre during the tournaments.

Both the Bantam and Midget Lakeland Jaguars receive an automatic bye to Provincials as the host, both will still compete for a league championship banner and in Provincial playdowns.