Freshly-dyed Alberta Beneath-18 AAA champions off to B.C. for Pacific Area sequence
Article content material
To a participant, the Calgary Beneath-18 AAA Buffaloes have bleached their hair.
Name it blond ambition …
Article content material
Golden flows for a golden time of the hockey season — a sorta custom relationship again 20 years or so for the town’s elite southwest crew.
“We didn’t do it final 12 months,” stated Buffaloes head coach Brent Harrison, with a giant grin. “And, you understand, some folks say that perhaps that was the distinction in our season.”
Commercial 2
Article content material
Certainly, a 12 months in the past, Harrison and the Buffs endured an early exit in pursuit of nationwide glory.
However this spring, they’re again doing their somewhat-annual factor, successful the province for a 3rd time within the final 4 Alberta Elite Hockey League seasons to push ever nearer to a return to the Hockey Canada Males’s Beneath-18 Nationwide Membership Championship — a.ok.a. the Telus Cup.
Victory within the Pacific Area best-of-three championship sequence this weekend over the host Vancouver NE Chiefs punches their ticket to that six-team nationwide dance, April 22-28 in Sydney, N.S.
“I really opened up my massive mouth and instructed them if we made it to Telus, I’d dye my hair blond, too,” Harrison stated. “So if we win a pair video games right here subsequent this weekend, I might need to try this.
“Simply me — not the assistant coaches. It was simply me making an attempt to provide the gamers a bit of additional motivation and help. I don’t thoughts doing one thing like that if these guys handle to get a pair extra wins.”
Something to push them onward to the nationwide finals — one thing that didn’t occur for the Buffs two years again after dropping to the identical host Chiefs program within the Pacific Area Championship.
Midday Information Roundup
Article content material
Commercial 3
Article content material
Phrase is the Chiefs — regardless of being led by a brand new coach — are just like the 2022 squad. That’s … small, quick and harmful.
“And bodily,” stated Buffaloes captain Tyson Murray. “They didn’t get right here by luck. They’re gonna be good, so you possibly can’t take them calmly.”
The Buffs are fairly good themselves, although.
They opened the AEHL playoffs with a 2-1 South Division semifinal win over the Purple Deer Chiefs and a 3-1 douse of the Calgary NW Flames — final 12 months’s league and Pacific Area champs. They then claimed the Alberta crown — their tenth in group historical past — over the Sherwood Park Ennis Kings in sweeping 4-3 (2OT), 2-1 (3OT) and 6-2 vogue to attain the provincial honour.
“Our motivation is all of us need to play for one another — we’ll need to succeed for one another and see one another do properly,” stated the 17-year-old Murray. “It’s an in depth group, and we’ve got plenty of motivation to do properly for one another.”
“I feel our motivation additionally comes from final 12 months,” continued 17-year-old teammate and goaltender Kael Svenson, becoming a member of Murray, Caleb Matthews and Christian Stephanson because the Buffs’ returnees from the 2022-23 season. “We in all probability ought to have went additional than we did. We form of choked within the South Ultimate (towards the Flames). And I feel plenty of the older guys are pushing on the youthful guys to try to go additional and simply pushing as a group displaying them methods to do it and what’s alongside the way in which.”
Commercial 4
Article content material
What’s alongside the way in which this weekend are video games towards the host and B.C. champion Chiefs on Friday and Saturday — each at 5:30 p.m. MT — at Scotia Barn in Burnaby, B.C.
If needed, Recreation 3 of the Pacific Area finale is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m. MT, additionally at Scotia Barn.
“Positively one of many higher groups that we’ve had since I’ve been right here,” stated Harrison of his Alberta champs. “So far as expertise is anxious, it’s a gifted group — particularly offensively. After which we’ve obtained good goaltending, and our defencemen have performed very well within the playoffs. So it’s been a extremely good combine.
“Positively proper up there with that Telus Cup group we had 5 years in the past (because the 2019 third-place finishers) and a few the Mac’s champion groups.”
“The distinction this 12 months is we’ve got no give up,” agreed Murray. “Like we’re down within the recreation, and we’re nonetheless anticipating to win. We by no means hand over. We all the time know we’ve got a extremely strong likelihood of successful.”
“It’s gonna take the entire group,” continued Svenson. “You recognize … all of the boys battling collectively and competing collectively. I feel it helps quite a bit as a result of everyone knows one another very well. We’re all shut buddies and every little thing outdoors of the rink, and I feel that helps quite a bit within the recreation in how we talk and play and get by means of the robust instances.”
Commercial 5
Article content material
In fact, they’re banking on a bit of blond custom to assist them, as properly.
“We didn’t do it final 12 months, after which we form of had a disappointing finish,” stated Murray of the dye-jobs. “So switching issues up this 12 months — one thing that bonds the group, a bit of group unity.”
“A lot of the boys didn’t need to this 12 months,” continued Svenson. “However the older guys form of made them do it simply so we may do it as a bunch.”
“I feel it’s good,” added Harrison. “All of them purchase in to it, and that’s one thing they do as a bunch. Perhaps it’s not the most effective search for a few of the photos, however I feel it’s good for them to do it — they usually have plenty of enjoyable with it.”
tsaelhof@postmedia.com
X: @ToddSaelhofPM
Article content material
