They represented the smallest community in the tournament, but they're suddenly big news.

The Weyburn Gold Wings might not have been the most talent-laden team in the Esso Cup, but they are the 2014 champions after a gutsy 2-1 victory over the broken-hearted — again — Edmonton Thunder Saturday afternoon in Stoney Creek.

It was just the third major national hockey championship for a team from the Saskatchewan town of just over 10,000 people. The first came 30 years ago next month when the Weyburn Red Wings won the 1984 national men's junior A championship, which they won again as host team nine years ago.

The Gold Wings draw players from other towns within an hour of Weyburn. Many Saskatchewan hockey observers felt they wouldn't be able to get by Regina into the national tournament, but they are now Canadian champions.

Weyburn lost only one game all tournament and defeated the Sudbury Lady Wolves in a Friday afternoon semifinal before meeting the Thunder, the most successful women's midget club program in the country, but still without a national championship to show for it.

Although Edmonton had the balance of play early, Weyburn, whose only loss in the round-robin came to host Stoney Creek Sabres, got on the board first when Tessa Wilson converted from a goalmouth scramble with four minutes to go in the opening frame.

Weyburn went up by a pair early in the second period with Bailee Bourassa scoring, but the Gold Wings then began running into penalty problems. Goalie Jane Kish held the Thunder power play at bay until Alexandra Poznikoff swept behind the net and fed unchecked Brett Campbell in the crease for the easy tap-in.

Poznikoff made an excellent move on a shorthanded breakaway halfway through the third period, but Kish moved to her right with the fleet Edmontonian for one of her biggest saves of a tournament in which she made many.

At the other end, Thunder goalie Tracie Kikuchi made a number of saves from point-blank range after the halfway mark of the third period which prevented the Wings from getting the insurance goal. A late Edmonton penalty helped blunt their attempt for the equalizer, despite pulling Kikuchi for an extra attacker.

The Thunder is the only organization which has reached the Esso Cup tournament in each of the six years of its existence. They've now won two silver medals and three bronzes, missing the podium only in 2009, the tournament's first year.

Earlier in the day, Ontario champions Sudbury Lady Wolves beat host Stoney Creek Sabres 3-2 in the bronze medal game. Sudbury also beat Stoney Creek in the Ontario championship two weeks ago.

- Esso Cup: Stoney Creek loses bronze medal game to Sudbury