The U13 Barons 2 pose for a team picture with family and friends following their league championship win at the ACC. (Submitted photo/Travis Florence)

By Martin Martinson

A season to remember

U13 Barons win STEP league championship

Mar 25, 2022 | 12:00 PM

The U13 Battlefords Barons 2 are STEP league champions.

Taking home the title on home ice, the championship serves as a fairytale end to a perfect 16-0 season for the team who continued their dominance through the league playoffs as well.

Defeating Big River in single-elimination in Round 1 of the playoffs, and the Barons 1 team in two-straight of their best-of-three in the second round, the team’s biggest test came against Neilburg in Round 3.

After splitting the opening two games of the series, the Barons took Game 3 by a 2-1 score in overtime, as Rylee Belyk scored the game winner just 14 seconds into the extra frame to punch their ticket to the final.

There the team continued to roll, beating Turtleford in back-to-back games, 5-2 and 7-2 respectively, to stake their claim as champs.

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Head coach of the Barons 2, Travis Florence said the key to the team’s success came down to their cohesiveness as a unit, and determination to win as a group.

“It was their character,” Florence said. “The character of all the kids on the team was evident from day one, and even the comradery amongst the parents. Everyone got along amazingly and really came together to make it a season to remember.”

The Barons 2 were one of four U13 teams from the Battlefords who competed in the STEP league this year. STEP stands for St. Walburg, Turtleford, Edam, Paradise Hill — named after the contingent of small towns that came together over 40 years ago to form the league, where teams from the surrounding region continue to compete to this day.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1