Witnessing the interaction between the St Benedict Bears and Confederation Chargers girls hockey teams in the aftermath of a decisive 1-0 victory for the south-enders with a SDSSAA banner on the line, it was clear that winning goaltender Elsa Blum had no lack of friends on both sides of the ice.

Mind you, on this day, Blum was equally as thankful for the netminder's besties, those iron pipes situated on either side of her as Confederation snipers Makayla Dunn and Rylee Morris both rang shots off the posts that would have turned the tide in this best of three final.

Thankfully, with a little help here and there, including that of her teammates, Blum was able to make the saves that allowed an early goal from Kendra Cole to stand as the game-winner.Turning aside all 21 shots that she faced, Blum could not have asked more from the crew that celebrated at her side.

"They do everything they can to help me," said the 16 year old grade 11 student. "Whether they are the best player on the team or the worst player on the team, the effort is always 100%."

"It means everything to me that they are putting all of their effort just to help me out."

The reverse is undoubtedly true as Blum makes a point to get to know the opposition.

"With Rylee's (Morris) slapshots from the blueline, I made sure to tell my team to move out of the way," she stated. "I want to see the puck all the way in. Every faceoff, Makayla (Dunn) tries to get it back to Rylee and Rylee takes the shot."

"And Makayla can pretty much skate through everybody so I need to be aware of that."

As for her team, this marked the fifth time in the past six years that St Benedict has laid claim to the Rebecca Johnston Trophy, awarded to the Division II girls hockey playoff champions.

"We connect really well, on the ice, off the ice, and that creates a really good vibe," suggested Blum. "We all just have fun with each other and can all get along with each other."

The remainder of the St Benedict Bears roster includes Katriina Saari, Michaela Cole, Presley Petryna-Brennan, Alivia Buchowski, Ava Bois, Kaylee Alberton, Harper Morin, Lizzy Bowerman, Alexandra Lawrence, Mya Ricci, Lauren Bouchard, Allison Bois, Vivian Rondina, Raya Bouillon, Janna Tarini, Sydney Bradley and coaches Emi Mardero, Tony Thibeault and Abby Soehner.