When the opposition met the Humboldt Under-12 Hurricanes at the Eastside Grevers' tournament in Saskatoon recently, they looked right into the eye of the storm.
Then they blinked.
The Hurricanes reigned supreme on their way to the Division III championship at the Saskatoon tournament, beating the Prince Albert Celtics-MacIntosh 4-0 in the final to win the gold medal.
The Eastside Grevers' tournament took place June 17-19.
The under-12 boys finished first in their pool, winning four games in all. They hammered the Saskatoon Aurora Corsairs 6-0 in the Division III semifinal, before dumping P.A. in the final.
The Under-12 Hurricanes are coached by Ed Zimroz, Randy Wittig, Keith Hogemann and Derrick Hogemann. The team is composed of players from Humboldt, Annaheim, Muenster, Lanigan, and the surrounding rural area.
Keith Hogemann noted the Hurricanes have played in two tournaments this season, with the first of those, the Saskatoon Avalon Classic, being a great learning experience and prelude to their gold-medal success in the second tourney.
"Our players really played excellent," Hogemann said. "Especially when you consider that 11 of our players are first year, and only four are second year. Our goalie, Eric Stronsky, is a first year, and he (has) stood on his head, no matter what."
The Avalon Classic took place June 3-5 in Saskatoon. Hogemann said the team took only first-year players to give them experience, while the second-year players were called up to help out the Under-14 Hurricanes.
The Under-12s went a respectable 1-3-1 in that tournament, with one of their losses coming via a penalty kick. Hogemann said although their first game there was a lopsided loss, the team bounced back and really learned a lot.
"They had never seen that level of competition before," he noted. "They're used to league play in Humboldt. But this was a much faster pace. We were just trying to get the kids used to their positions and such, because it was their first tournament."
The Eastside Grevers' tournament was a much more successful one for the Hurricanes, Hogemann noted.
"I think they had one goal against all weekend," he said. "It was obvious from the first tournament that they really learned how to defend their end of the field, and play their positions. The forwards showed lots of ball handling skills, and the older ones (the second-year players) already know how to read the play as it develops. There's quite a bit of speed on this young team."
Following a successful league season, the Hurricanes are now getting ready for Provincials. Hogemann said depending on whether the team amalgamates with Melfort-Tisdale, or goes it alone, they could either play in Division III or Division II provincials.
"Melfort is our biggest rival, but teams from Saskatoon and Regina always seem to do whatever they can to keep us from participating in tournaments," Hogemann said. "It might be nice to join forces and have a really strong team, and beat up on those big city teams for a change."
