Portage Thunder Ringette's U-14A team won the bronze at the Provincial Championship on the weekend.

The team rebounded after losing a close game Saturday morning that would have put them in the gold medal match on Sunday.

"The girls could play that game again and probably win it," says coach Randy Owens. "A couple of bounces went the wrong way and we came out on the wrong end of the scoresheet. All we needed was a bit more time and we would've had a win."

They had to play their second game of the day against a rested team from River East for third place. The Thunder refused to let fatigue be an excuse and controlled the game from start to finish winning 8-2.

"They learned a lot playing this year, especially after those types of games," says Owens. "They learned they can do their best even when things are hard or when they're tired, or maybe when they're hurting a bit, they still brought their best. They did that all year too, they never game up. They really showed a lot of character."

"These girls represented Portage Ringette Association well," he adds. "They had an on-ice respect that I thought was second to none out there, a hard work ethic, and just all around good comradery. They never badgered a ref, never saw any bad behavior on the ice, and I thought that was a huge takeaway from the provincials."