A Kelowna team came out on top against British Columbia含羞草研究社檚 best minor hockey teams this week.
B.C. Hockey含羞草研究社檚 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含羞草研究社檚 Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association Rockets are this year含羞草研究社檚 provincial champs, as they went undefeated at the tourney, ending with a 6-2 victory over Fort St. John含羞草研究社檚 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.
含羞草研究社淲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,含羞草研究社� 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.
含羞草研究社淚t made it all worth it 含羞草研究社� we worked so hard the whole year,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚t was really enjoyable and a lot of happy feelings.含羞草研究社�
The coach said the players showed a lot of buy-in all season long and listened and learned.
含羞草研究社淓verything that we tried to implement, they would listen and they would do it. It含羞草研究社檚 a really cohesive group that way,含羞草研究社� Nikolai said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 really fun group to coach 含羞草研究社� I tell them that all the time.含羞草研究社�
Wood said this year含羞草研究社檚 Rockets team had a lot of chemistry, helped by having a core of players returning from the previous season.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檝e got a really good group of boys here and we were motivated to get the job done含羞草研究社卟菅芯可鐫 he said. 含羞草研究社淥ur commitment to the team allowed us to get the gold medal.含羞草研究社�
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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