For the second consecutive year, the Moose Jaw U17 AA Ice has walked away from the provincial tournament as champions.  

They would take down a familiar foe, the Regina Saints 6-3 on Sunday afternoon to cap off a perfect 5-0 weekend and be crowned provincial champions.  

“It was an eruption of excitement,” says MJ U17 AA Ice coach, Carlie Pagens. “The difference from last year was last year they didn’t know they could do it and this year they knew what it meant and how big it was. Our girls from last year stepped into leadership roles and called up everyone to know this is what it looks like to win and what we need to do. It was a great moment and a lot of tears.” 

As a result of winning provincials, the Ice have booked their ticket to the national tournament, which is in Saskatoon this year from August 9 to 13.  

The national tournament is a familiar spot for the MJ U17 AA Ice being there last year in Quebec. Though it wasn’t the result they were looking for, the team took a lot away from that tournament heading into this season.  

“They have never seen the kind of ball that you see at nationals and two have been there already and to know what the level of ball is and what to expect, we’re ready to come out and play hard,” adds Pagens. 

The hope is that by playing in Saskatoon for nationals, the Ice may have a slight edge over their competitors on the field and in the stands as well. 

“They are fields that we know we know well, and since they were quite young, we’ve played on those fields. I think that is going to help us out. We would love to have our community out there to support us.” 

To help them with the cost of going to provincials in Saskatoon, the team will be doing some fundraising. They will be looking to get some local businesses to sponsor the team or provide some gift cards to help with groceries. In addition, they will be helping out with field maintenance at the Moose Jaw U15 AA Ice’s provincial tournament this weekend at Optimist Park.  

The Ice picked up right were left off last season, coming into this year. They finished this season and headed into the provincial tournament with a 31-11 record combined with tournaments and regular season games. 

They kicked things off with a 6-5 win over the Regina Royals on Friday night and they rallied on Saturday to win both of their games 9-6 and 9-1 against the Spirits and Saskatoon Hustlers respectively.  

Heading into championship Sunday, the Ice took care of business shutting out the Saskatoon Lasers 10-0 to advance to the provincial final against the Regina Saints. 

Pagens says that with the Saints being a familiar foe, the championship game wasn’t going to be easy.  

“The Saints are a great team and we felt that these were the best two teams in the province going head-to-head in the final and we had to earn everything. What happened for us all weekend and especially in the final was every single kid had an impact.” 

“We weren’t sitting in at a place where oh this person is coming up in the lineup and we were worried, every kid was hitting the ball hard and making the plays defensively. They played clean ball, and they were able to rely on one another.” 

In the end, it was the Ice who came out victorious as provincial champions, winning 6-3 over Regina.  

Pagens mentions that their second-year players really stepped up as leaders, especially in the final, and were communicating with one another en route to the win.  

Looking back at last year’s team, Pagens says this year it felt like the Ice had to work differently for this provincial title compared to last year.  

“We have fewer girls and faced a lot of adversity as a team this year. Any injury really cost us because our team and roster were small. Nationals feels a bit different because last year we went out to get experience and see what it was like. This year we’re rolling in and we’re going to be there to compete and show the nation what Saskatchewan softball has.” 

Now with provincials behind them, the Moose Jaw U17 AA Ice will look toward the Regina Minor Softball League playoffs, which get going on Tuesday starting with the Regina Royals at 6:30 p.m. 

Following the completion of their league playoffs, they are hoping to set up some exhibition games with other teams competing at nationals.