The Innovex Estevan Bears were one of six teams that competed in the inaugural Saskatchewan Hockey Classic played at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon from December 26 – 31.
The teams were split into two pools of 3 for round robin play. The Bears shared a pool with fellow SMAAAHL team Saskatoon Blazers and the Eastman Selects, who play out of the U18 AAA league in Manitoba. The other pool featured the Tisdale Trojans and Prince Albert Mintos from the SMAAAHL, along with the Grande Prairie Athletic Club out of Alberta.
The Bears would win both of their round robin games, 4-2 over Saskatoon and 9-1 over Eastman, to finish 1st in the pool and earn a bye to the semi-final.
Eastman would win their quarterfinal game against Grande Prairie, which set up a rematch in the semi-final which ended in a 5-2 win for the Bears and a ticket to the championship game.
In the final, the Bears would again face a rematch but this one would be against the Blazers. Saskatoon defeated Prince Albert in the quarterfinal and defeated Tisdale in overtime in the other semi-final to make it to the championship game. The Bears would jump out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st period, but Saskatoon responded making it 1-1 after one and took a 2-1 lead over the Bears after two periods. The Bears had chances but couldn’t find the equalizer in the 3rd period, with the Blazers scoring an empty-netter to seal a 3-1 victory and win the Saskatchewan Hockey Classic.
Both Bears goaltenders, Evan Hutcheon and Jaxon Kuchinka, played very well in net splitting the four games. On offence, the Bears’ line of Dylan Brass (9pts), Boston Schmidt (8pts), and Ethan Boehm (6pts) finished 1st, tied for 2nd, and tied for 6th in tournament scoring.
