10-year-old hockey player Emma Bailey is celebrating her team's championship win in the U11 'A' Eastern Manitoba Female Hockey League.

The High Bluff, Manitoba product made the commute to Stonewall this year to play with the Stonewall Blues as this was the closest female hockey club to her. Bailey says there was a lot they had to overcome to get to where they did.

"It was really exciting. At the start of the year, we weren't that good of a team. The other Stonewall team was the better team with the better goalies and better players, but as we moved on we got really good," Bailey explains. "At the end of the year, in the finals, we went against the other Stonewall team, and we won to get the gold."

Bailey notes this was the first time they were able to take down the other Stonewall squad all season, and it came when it mattered the most. She adds all the girls in Stonewall were extremely welcoming and made her feel at home with the team, despite not having played with them prior to this season.

The right-winger says she scored a goal in almost every game of the playoffs. Bailey describes the feeling of scoring a goal.

"It's really exciting, especially in the provincials or playoffs," says Bailey. "When you get a goal, your whole team gets pumped up and excited."

After winning their league finals, Bailey and her squad punched their ticket to the provincial tournament, where they ended up finishing with a bronze medal. Bailey adds the games were really tough at provincials, with them picking up a number of narrow wins, including an overtime victory in the third-place game.

She was extremely happy with the way the season ended, especially since her team only had a single win before the new year. Bailey says it was much nicer to play hockey with all girls, rather than with boys' teams as she had in previous years.

The High Bluff forward gives thanks to all of her coaches and her trainer Gisele Southerland. Bailey is extremely excited to get back on the ice again next season.