The Pembina Valley Hawks season and time at the 2017 Esso Cup National Female "AAA" Midget Hockey Championship has come to a close after a 4-1 loss to the Ontario representative Durham West lightning in the bronze medal game Saturday afternoon.

"Coming into the game today the girls were still feeling a little blue after last nights loss. It's tough to come back from something like that," said Hawks coach Dana Bell. "I think we were starting to feel some of the host team pressures. We just couldn't get it together today." 

Brooklyn Donaldson tallied the first goal for the Lightning with the assists on the play going to Sarah Brooks and Chavonne Truter, who had a three point afternoon. 

In the second period the Hawks would strike. Makenzie McCallum scored her fifth goal of the tournament, this one with a beautiful shot top glove past the Lightning goaltender Kaitlyn Evelyn, while shorthanded too. 

Meanwhile, the third period didn't bode well for the Hawks as they gave up three unanswered goals and went on to lose the game. Truter scored a pair of times to make 3-1, and then Mackenzie MacDonald capped off their three goals in the period with about six minutes remaining.

Evelyn made 24 saves in the win, while Pembina Valley goaltender Halle Oswald allowed 4 goals on 33 shots.

Overall this was a great year for the Hawks, who didn't think of sitting back because they had been awarded the 'host' spot at the Esso Cup. The girls finished second place in the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League and then promptly went undefeated in the playoffs rattling off nine straight victories. Pembina Valley swept the Central Plains Capitals, Winnipeg Avros, and Westman Wildcats to capture the organisation's seventh Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League title.

"It was an amazing season. I know that a lot of people talked about how 'they' (the Hawks) just get handed the chance to go to the Esso (Cup). We did really prove that we could win our way here. We swept all of the playoffs and it was incredible," said Hawks alternate captain Sage McElroy-Scott. "I don't think we have played as good as we had. This was just an amazing experience for everyone involved in hockey. It was just great."

With every passing year a number of Hawks players graduate out of the Pembina Valley program and this year's graduates include Katelyn Heppner, Toni Conrad, Brooklyn Platt, Alyssa Alderson, Erin Doherty, Kenzie Heide, Kelly-Rae Zdan, and Mackenzie Hutchinson.