If the players and coaches of the Barrhead Steelers had written the script themselves they couldn’t have done any better.
That is what Trevor Whiting, Steelers head coach, told the Leader a day after the team won the Provincial Midget ‘B’ championship by defeating the High Prairie Legionnaires March 26 in Rocky Mountain House 5-4.
“I’m still a little hoarse from all the screaming and cheering,” he said.
The Steelers qualified for the provincial championship tournament by defeating Calahoo and Athabasca to represent Zone 3.
The Steelers then went on to go undefeated in the round robin with a 4-0 record, winning the majority of games in convincing fashion before defeating the Devon Drillers 5-2 in the semi-finals.
Going into the finals, Whiting said they didn’t know a lot about their opponents, except that they had captured their division banner and qualified for provincials undefeated. A feat the Legionnaires repeated at the provincial tournament, until the finals.
“So obviously they have a strong team,” Whiting said, adding High Prairie proved it in the first period. After the first 20 minutes of the game the Legionnaires led 3-0.
For those who followed the series through Hockey Alberta’s website, it should be noted that the box score is incorrect, with the time of Barrhead’s goals being recorded incorrectly until the third period.
“During the intermission we had a good chat with the boys, telling them they had to dig deep and play with heart,” he said.
In the second period the Steelers responded by scoring three unanswered goals, two by Josh Starman and one by Tanner Whiting.
In the third period, High Prairie struck first, breaking the tie at the seven-minute mark.
Three minutes later the Steelers pulled even, thanks to an unassisted goal by Whiting before Nicholas Botros put Barrhead up for good.
Ty Steinbring stopped 30 out of 34 shots for the win.
“It truly was a team effort. When called upon, every single player stepped up. Our offence, defence and goaltending were just exceptional throughout the whole tournament,” Whiting said, adding the tournament stats bear that out.
Barrhead had four players on the tournament’s Top 10 scoring leaders, including the top three spots Tanner Whiting, Nicholas Botros and Brayden DeRudder.
Steelers goaltender Colton Griffiths had the best goals against average (GAA) for the tournament, 2.00 in three starts and Steinbring ranked fourth with 2.63 GAA also in three starts.
“It was the best I’ve seen any team come together, including last year’s silver medal winning team. By the time we reached Sunday [final] our boys were beat up and bruised and we went through every ice pack we had. These boys battled hard to get the gold,” he said. “It was just incredible to see.”
Whiting added the team wouldn’t have made it as far if it weren’t for the dedication of his coaching staff, noting they spent hours analyzing and preparing for every conceivable contingency.
As for what the prospects of next year’s team are, he said the future looks bright.
Only four players, Tanner Whiting, Brayden DeRudder, Josh Starman and Dylan Callihoo will not be returning. Whiting also noted Barrhead has a strong hockey program and there will be a number of new players who will be able to step in.
He added, as much as four brought the team through their play on the ice they are leaving behind a lot of intangibles.
“The leaders and the vets of the team, they wanted to win and it this type of leadership that they have taught and instilled in the rest of the team,” Whiting said.
