A Kelowna team came out on top against British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 best minor hockey teams this week.
B.C. Hockey害羞草研究所檚 U18 Tier 1 provincial championships were held Monday through Thursday, March 18-21, at the Nanaimo Ice Centre, bringing together eight teams from around the province for pool play and playoffs.
Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association Rockets are this year害羞草研究所檚 provincial champs, as they went undefeated at the tourney, ending with a 6-2 victory over Fort St. John害羞草研究所檚 North East Trackers in the gold-medal game.
The final was the second game of the day for both teams, which factored into game-planning.
害羞草研究所淲e knew that if we just kept skating hard we could probably tire them out a bit in the third and I think a little bit of that happened,害羞草研究所� said Tim Nikolai, coach of the Rockets.
He said his team got some good bounces, but earned those bounces with their skating.
Brogan Wood, Rockets captain, said it was hard to describe the feeling when the final buzzer sounded.
害羞草研究所淚t made it all worth it 害羞草研究所� we worked so hard the whole year,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t was really enjoyable and a lot of happy feelings.害羞草研究所�
The coach said the players showed a lot of buy-in all season long and listened and learned.
害羞草研究所淓verything that we tried to implement, they would listen and they would do it. It害羞草研究所檚 a really cohesive group that way,害羞草研究所� Nikolai said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 really fun group to coach 害羞草研究所� I tell them that all the time.害羞草研究所�
Wood said this year害羞草研究所檚 Rockets team had a lot of chemistry, helped by having a core of players returning from the previous season.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檝e got a really good group of boys here and we were motivated to get the job done害羞草研究所π卟菅芯克鶟 he said. 害羞草研究所淥ur commitment to the team allowed us to get the gold medal.害羞草研究所�
In the final, Christopher Kilduff led the Rockets with two goals, and Wyatt Fuhrmann, Ryder Kinjerski-Nielsen, Jayden Mackie and Dylan Toews also scored. Matthew Sowinski was the winning goalie. For the Trackers, Mason McGinnis and Brody Mickey scored.
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