The Cold Lake Jr. B Ice clinched an unprecedented fourth consecutive North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League title this past weekend after a nail biting 3-2 road victory over the Wainwright Bisons secured a 4-2 series win for the budding organization.
After enjoying one of its most memorable regular seasons in recent memory this past year, the Ice once again found themselves in a championship series with the Bisons. Having gone neck and neck in the opening four games, the Ice managed to pull away in games five and six, recording 4-2 and 3-2 victories respectively to book a spot in next week's provincial championships.
Ice head coach and GM Neil Langridge was delighted to celebrate a fourth straight league title and congratulated his team on what he described as a “remarkable achievement.”
“It's an ecstatic feeling (bringing the NEAJBHL title) home for a fourth time,” Langridge said. “As a whole, the team played unbelievably well, not just tonight but throughout this entire series.”
He added, “I like to emphasize that every year is different – different guys, different feeling and this win ranks right up there with (the last three) championships. Four in a row is something to be very proud of for this organization as a whole. We have a short time to enjoy it, then we've got to get right back to work as we prepare to go to battle in Grande Prairie.”
After regular season top-scorer Christian Nypower inspired the Ice to victory last Wednesday in game five with an impressive hat-trick it was an unlikely source that stepped up and became the hero in game six, as veteran Zach Zarowny enjoyed one of the best games of his career, notching two goals and an assist to down a plucky Bisons outfit and propel the Ice into a battle for provincial supremacy.
Speaking to the Nouvelle after the game, Zarowny admitted this was one of the greatest moments of his life and highlighted just how big of an accomplishment it was for the Ice to have wrapped up a fourth consecutive NEAJBHL title.
“Those two goals (on Friday) were definitely the biggest goals of my career hands down,” Zarowny said. “It feels pretty good to help the boys out and grab the all important win, but most of all this is a team game, it's about all 22 guys on that team and we're just happy to win another championship – it feels great and now we're all just looking forward to getting out to Grande Prairie and competing at provincials.”
Over 1,000 rowdy fans packed into the Peace Memorial Multiplex in Wainwright on Friday for the sixth installment in what had become an enthralling series between two of the most respected Junior B organizations in the province. After a slow start, it was the Bisons that drew first blood after Chase Smith slotted one home less than three minutes in to give the Bisons hope of drawing a seventh game.
That hope suddenly turned to slight expectation 10 minutes later as rookie Keaton Holinaty took advantage of some sloppy Ice play to fire the puck beyond starting goaltender David Rupp, extending the Bison's advantage to two.
With the hometown crowd doing its best to spur a visibly motivated Bisons side on after a morale boosting second goal, Ice forward Jake Chizma capitalized on a fortunate rebound 30 seconds later to bring his team right back into the game.
The second period belonged to the Ice, and more specifically belonged to Zarowny, who notched at 12:15 and again at 16:02 to give the team the lead for the first time that night. Despite a late, late push from the Bisons, Rupp stood tall and, with the assistance of several brave desperation blocks from his teammates, recorded a third period shutout to once again bring the Dick Holler Memorial Championship trophy to Cold Lake.
After laying everything on the line in an intensely competitive series with the Bisons, Langridge commended the character of his team after such a “tremendous” come from behind victory.
“We didn't quite get the start we wanted. Wainwright came out strong, took the early lead and really showed us they wouldn't be going down without a fight. So, to be able to come back against a tough team in a tough barn speaks volumes about the character and mental strength of these players,” Langridge said.
“I'm not going to single anyone out, because we really needed all 23 guys tonight – both on the bench and on the ice. This was just a tremendous team effort and that's exactly what we're going to need going forward as we prepare for provincials.
Having previously been a part of two title-winning teams, Ice captain Dallas Ansell said it was a “special feeling” to lead the organization to yet another conference title.
“It feels great to win four championships in a row, the pressure was really on us to perform in this series and really make sure we didn't let everyone down in Cold Lake. We stepped up to the plate and it feels great to get the job done,” Ansell said.
Ansell recorded a team-leading 10 post-season goals to propel the Ice to glory, while rookie forward Michael Harbich showed he was capable of stepping up to the occasion, putting up 24 points in 15 games to lead the Ice in playoff points.
With three of the six games with the Bisons going to overtime and the three games decided in regulation being separated by no more than two goals, Ice forward Christian Nypower, who's hat-trick propelled the Ice to victory in game five, acknowledged just how tough this championship series had been.
“These were by far our hardest games all year, every single game (the Bisons) fought from start to finish and every game we knew we had to come ready to go because we knew for sure they were going to be up for the fight,” Nypower said.
He added, “I'm just delighted that we were able to grab a fourth straight NEAJBHL title. Not many teams get the opportunity to do that and finally raising that cup, it really just shows that all the hard work over the past seven months paid off. It's one of the best feelings in the world.”
As the team now prepares for a provincial push, Langridge said he has every confidence in his team's ability to “make some noise” in Grande Prairie this weekend.
“This is the first time that we haven't had a week off in between the (league) finals and provincials, so that's going to be something new for us, but maybe it will be the difference we need,” Langridge said. “I know the boys are capable of upsetting the apple cart a little bit and it will be an honour to go out there on the ice against some of the best teams in Alberta.”
He added, “Of course, the end goal for us is to be the best team in Alberta this year, so it could be quite a ride at provincials.”
The Ice will kick off the team's provincial campaign with a game against the Fort Saskatchewan Pyramid Hawks at 4 p.m. on Thursday and follow that up with a meeting with the hosting Grande Prairie JDA Kings at the same time on Friday.
The team will conclude round robin play with a game against the Blackfalds Wranglers on Saturday morning and should they make it out of their group, Cold Lake will advance to the knockout stage later that day.
