By Wendy Graves via Hockey Canada

The Weyburn Gold Wings went 4-1 in the preliminary round before shutting out the Sudbury Lady Wolves in the semifinals. In the gold medal game, Tessa Wilson gave Weyburn a 1-0 lead over the Edmonton Thunder after the first and Bailee Bourassa put the Gold Wings up two less than two minutes into the second.

The Thunder cut the lead in half later in middle frame, but from there it was all Jane Kish; the tournament’s top goaltender shut the door, making 29 saves in the Gold Wings’ 2-1 gold medal win.

The Esso experience
Scoring the winning goal in a national championship game on TSN was pretty cool, says Bourassa, but just as memorable was sharing the week with the extended Gold Wings family. “After every game I’d see my parents’ faces and how proud they were of not just me but everyone on the team,” she says. “Everyone’s parents were so proud of us.”

Unheralded underdogs
The Gold Wings arrived in Stoney Creek, Ont., having won 17 of their previous 19 games. Despite this, they weren’t on a lot of people’s radar. “I don’t think anyone expected to win,” says Bourassa, who led the team in scoring this season. “In the final game we were like, we might as well do it now.”

Raising the trophy
“I will never forget the smile on my roommate’s [captain Caitlin Dempsey] face and the look in her eyes when she got to hold that cup over her head,” says Kish, now in her freshman season at the University of Regina. “We were able to do a victory lap – the excitement, the achievement and the happiness between everybody was awesome.” Some parents even managed to find their way onto the ice to take photos.

Celebrating good times
Following the game, the dressing room was a medley of emotions. It was a close team, says Bourassa, and with several players graduating the realization of having played their last game together sunk in. “But at the same time we just ended on an amazing note,” she says. “Girls were crying but it was tears of joy.” Everybody truly was on an all-time high, says Kish. “If a stranger walked in there they would be as upbeat as us.”

Welcome back to Weyburn, Gold Wings
While many parents made the trip east to Stoney Creek, a large contingent of family, friends, billets and supporters greeted the team home at the airport in Regina. “As we were taking the escalators down we saw all the people in gold and black,” says Kish. “They had signs and balloons and they were cheering.” The local news even did a piece on the team. “Everyone in Weyburn was rooting for us,” says Bourassa. “It was pretty cool, actually.”

A shiny reminder
Kish’s gold medal now sits with her Top Goaltender trophy on her desk at home, centerpieces of 14 years’ worth of hockey memories. Bourassa’s golden keepsake hangs in her bedroom, a visible reminder of an unforgettable week in southern Ontario.

One year later
Eleven players who went to the Esso Cup are back this year. The Gold Wings finished third during the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season. Last year’s success has brought out the best of opponents, but it’s also given the now-younger team reassurance to handle whatever comes its way. Winning a national title does breed confidence, says Bourassa, but definitely not cockiness. “We can’t just go back to last year all the time,” she says. “This year’s a totally new year so you got to adapt and change things up a little bit.”