A trifecta of victories for local hockey this month, as the Squamish Eagles U11A, the Squamish Eagle's U18 team, and the Sea to Sky Bears U18A took wins at their respective competitions.
On March 10, the Squamish Eagle's “midget” (U18) team played against the Hollyburn Huskies at Hollyburn Country Club for the championship banner. Squamish won in a “super intense” 5-4 win. “For some of the these players, it was their last minor hockey game ever, as they are graduating this year,” said parent Allys Di Marzo in an email to The Squamish Chief.
On March 9, the Squamish Minor Hockey Association announced that the Squamish Eagles U11A hockey team took the big win during the Final 4.
Danny Brooks, head coach of the Eagles, called the development Squamish's "very own Mighty Ducks story."
Over the weekend of March 5 to 7, the team entered the round-robin playoff series as not only the only team to play Flight 2 for the entirety of the season, but as the only team from a Tier 3 association, Brooks said in a written statement.
In a series of victories, the raptors — who, in addition to Brooks, were also led by assistant coaches Dave Marrow, Rick Moore, Elliott Moses and manager Carly Simmons — were able to soar to victory against three other teams.
During the series, they scored 3-0 against Burnaby, 5-3 against Vancouver and 6-4 against North Vancouver.
The efforts of the local athletes paid off.
Captain Easton Brooks and assistant captains Brahmjot Hundal and Langdon Moore helped set the pace of the team.
Simon Marrow, Sam Moses, Hank Hollander, Cameron Moore, Lucas Scorda, Hayden Mercier, Blake Hutchinson, Cody Simmons, Rory Wolfs, Tosh Richie and Noah Philips were key to dominating the ice.
Goalie Leo LaFramboise helped stifle the other teams' scoring ability.
"Playing these teams was a steep mountain to climb, but they did it," said Brooks in a written statement. "As a coach, I couldn't be more proud of these kids, and it was an honour to coach these boys to the top. "
The series was not anticipated to be an easy one. The Eagles' three other opponents in the series — at least on paper — were the favoured groups entering the competitions.
Vancouver Thunderbirds A2, Burnaby Minor Bulldogs A2 and North Vancouver Minor A2 all played in Flight 1 up until January and come from Tier 2 associations, Brooks said.
The Squamish team's previous encounters with the other groups had not gone according to plan.
"The Eagles had only met these teams a couple of times throughout the regular season and were unable to secure a win at any of those meetings," said Brooks.
However, there was an upside to the challenge.
"Being the underdog of this playoff series pushed this young team to compete at the next level," Brooks said.
"Their heart and determination lead them to sweeping the series and securing the title of U11A playoffs champions."
However, that wasn't the only good hockey news.
The Sea to Sky Bears were able to clinch the win at the President's Series on March 8.
Manager Wendy Kearns Moore wrote in an email that the Bears' U18A team won the series with a 3-0 victory over North Delta.
During the games, the Bears racked up an impressive record of five wins and one tie.
"The Bears would like to thank all their fans and sponsors for their support over the course of the season," said Kearns Moore. "A special shout-out to our five graduating players — Chadd Pereverzoff, Jaxon Cooper, Logan Anderson, Kai Bacon and Marcus Remple."
**Please note, this story was updated after it was first posted to include the Squamish Eagles U18 team's victory and photo.
