Bloomington Jefferson Peewee A
Season Recap
This Jaguars team consisted of a great group of kids and coaches who had goal of making it to the state tournament which would be a first in 19 years for a Jaguars Peewee or Bantam team.
Since the kids had known and played together for so many years, it was a goal they knew they could achieve. The season started off strong, and in the first tournament of the year, The Honor the Game Tournament, they were able to capture first place. As the season progressed, they were able to add a third place finish at the PeeWee Showdown and won first place at the Hermantown Tournament.
After a long crazy season, it came down to “tournament time”. Our district consists of very strong teams, and we knew we had to finish in the top three or the year would be over. We made it all the way to the district championship, which came down to a final game against a familiar foe in Edina. We were not able to come through with a victory, but the second place finish meant we still advanced to the Region Tournament.
The Region Tournament brought with it some familiar opponents and very good teams. Every game was close with the kids losing an absolute nail biter to Roseville in the East Region championship game that was nothing short of devastating. The kids watched with tears as Roseville celebrated, but they had one last chance. For the short 24 hour time they had, the coaches did what they could to prepare the kids for once last chance at a state tournament berth.
That last chance consisted of another game against our most familiar rival, Edina. This time it was a “must win” as the loser's season would be over. As expected, the game was the ultimate back and forth, but this time, we would be the ones to break the hearts of our opponents and win a bid to state.
In a matter of 24 hours, we lived through hockey’s lowest of lows and highest of highs. It was not only fun to be a player, but also fun to be a coach, a parent and a spectator. We felt lucky to watch some wonderful hockey.
Everyone was excited to see just what this team could do. The Bloomington community was thrilled, and the support was overwhelming. The kids knew they had done something great, but the parents and the community knew they had also done something special, something that Bloomington Jaguar Hockey had not done in 19 years, longer than these kids had been alive.