It wasn’t the way the Squamish Eagles Pee Wee C2 team wanted the season to end, but they had a lot of fun getting there.

The Eagles hosted the North Shore Winter Club (NSWC) Winterhawks for the Sea to Sky series division final on Saturday (March 9) and dropped a 5-3 decision to their rivals from the south.

Despite the loss, head coach Jeff Wilgosh said it was a memorable season.

“We had a good season and a great end, but we always played our game,” he said after the loss in the final. “We had a hard start to the season but we finished third in the regular season and had a nice playoff run. Congratulations to the Winterhawks. Though, they’re a good team. ”

Wilgosh noted that the Eagles only won one game in its first six but to start the season but finished strong with five wins in the last six games. Team manager Kathy Cormack agreed with Wilgosh.

“The boys really came together at the end of the season,” she said. “It was a really exciting playoff.”

The Winterhawks opened the scoring six minutes into the first but the Eagles replied with 12 seconds left in the opening period when Mark Roblin scored on a breakaway after being set up by Jack Cormack and Willy Trento.

The second period saw the Winterhawks pour on the pressure but Eagles goalie Jason Hoerger was up to the task. NSWC hit a post five minutes into the second and then re-took the lead seven minutes in.

Roblin scored his second of the game five minutes into the third but the Winterhawks scored just 10 seconds later to take the lead for good. Keif Ranada added a goal with 46 seconds to go but the Winterhawks replied again with an empty-net goal before the final horn.

“It was a good effort out there by both teams,” said Winterhawks coach Jim Svoboda. “Probably the turning point was when Ryan Sewell scored for us right after the Eagles scored.”

The game closes the book on the season for the Pee Wee Eagles with no other games or tournaments remaining on the calendar.

For more information on local minor hockey, visit www.squamishminorhockey.com.