The Chilliwack Mustangs went unbeaten through the entire regular season and playoffs before taking their first loss Friday morning.
It seemed to come at the worst possible time. Facing Juan de Fuca in the bantam B provincial opener, at Burnaby’s Bill Copeland Arena, the Mustangs suffered an 11-7 defeat.
Christel Blesch was the Chilliwack MVP.
For a team unaccustomed to facing adversity, it could have been devastating.
But these Mustangs did what championship teams do.
They took the loss in stride, got their game together and got right back on track.
On Friday afternoon they routed Delta 15-5.
Dawson Rodin was the MVP.
On Saturday morning they edged Shuswap 6-4.
Connor McCracken was the MVP.
By the time they blitzed Saanich 10-5 Saturday night, backstopped by MVP goaltender Kayl Graydon, they’d regained all of their swagger. Like a boulder rolling downhill, they weren’t going to be stopped by anyone.
And how perfect was it facing Juan de Fuca again in the finals. With a title in sight and revenge on the radar, Chilliwack played ruthless lacrosse, drubbing their overmatched opponents 10-5 to secure the 2012 bantam B provincial championship.
Davin Padgham was the MVP.
Blesch made the post-tournament all-star team and Matt Rychtowski got the Fair Play award.
Others on the team were Timothy Hulstein, Caleb Carter, Alexander Rademakecher, Kaleb Moniz, Sean Russell, Colin Gormely, Jamie Brunt, Jake Hunter, Blake Bonnar, Nicklas Milne and Ethan Marsden-Blackface.
The coach was Brandon Mulligan.