The Steinbach Regional Secondary School's hockey team received their first ever Winnipeg High School Hockey League banner on Thursday night.

It wasn't the one they set out to win at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season but it's a banner the team can be so proud of.

The Sabres dropped a 3-2 decision to Springfield in the deciding third game of their Free Press Division final at MTS Iceplex.

"Game three was tight just like all the games in the series," said SRSS head coach Lawney Penner. "We came out strong in the first and got the lead we wanted. Unfortunately, we couldn't add one more in the first as we had a lot of chances. Hats off to Springfield. They blocked a lot of shots and had great attacking speed through the neutral zone all series."

Nico Chiasson and Hyde Rickard, who was named the Sabres MVP for the Free Press Division final, did the goal scoring for Steinbach Regional.

Max Brook and Riley Darragh scored in the second period for Springfield.

Darragh beat Sabres goaltender Oliver Peters with 13 second left in the middle frame and Blake Stelmaschuk potted the eventual game winner just 19 seconds into the the third period.

"There's always disappointment when you get so close to your team's ultimate goal only to fall one win short," Penner said. "With that said, the boys have so much to be proud of. For starters they showed their character by battling right to the very end. No matter what the adversity was we faced all year, I could always count on the boys giving their all right to the end. Throw in a couple of tournament wins, a long win streak and making it to the final game of the championship finals, the boys should hold their heads high."

Year four of the Steinbach Regional Secondary School Hockey program will go into the history books as the most successful - so far.

"I'm extremely proud of the boys and the season they had," said Penner. "Together they had a very successful season and created a lot of memories that will last a lifetime."


photo courtesy Winnipeg High School Hockey League