It’s off to provincials for the Wheatland Chiefs after the team defeated the West Central Tigers in a three-game series in the U18 AA SCAHL.
Last weekend, the Chiefs battled against the Tigers with a home game advantage. The team lost the first of three games, but came back and won 2-1, and the final with a score of 3 -1.
The Chiefs, who are at the top of the South division, played the West Central Tigers, who were at the top of the North Division.
Head coach Colton Grant says “It was very close the whole way through, but we were able to keep playing and get a victory.”
Grant felt both teams were very evenly matched.
“They're good, I think at this time of year you're getting the best out of every team. I think throughout the season we had a higher point total than them, but obviously, we're in different divisions,” said Grant.
“They had to come through that North tournament and they had to battle through, they were playing at a high level and we had to do the same through our South tournament,” he explained. “The games were all tight the whole way through so it was it was kind of anyone's game."
Grant noted that for the Chiefs, losing the first game was like a wake-up call.
“We were able to come back in the second game when we could have lost it all there and then and forced a game three,” he said it was also a boost for the team to be playing in front of a home crowd in Strathmore.
“It was a really, really good crowd. People really came out and supported and I know the boys and our team were pretty thankful for that because they made a lot of noise and it was a fun atmosphere in the rink. Being able to win at home is something that's always special, just having friends and family there, it was an extra little kind of the cherry on top,” said Grant.
The Wheatland Chiefs is a team that is usually made up of players from the Wheatland County region including Chestermere, Langdon, Strathmore, and as far as Drumheller.
About this year's team, the head coach says “I know it's easy to say now after hindsight after you won, but they really are a good group of kids. From day one they had a really good bonded understanding of each other and they bought into what us coaches were laying out for them and it made a difference. I think early on in the regular season. We didn't have as much time where we had to kind of feel each other out and get through all the sort of kinks of what it is to be a teammate, and what this team is all about.”
“I think this last series shows that being down and that adversity and then coming back from it, was all those lessons learned throughout the year. So it was a really good group of kids, they bonded together and they certainly got better throughout the year."
The Wheatland Chiefs will now advance to the provincial U18 championships held March 31 to April 3 in Calgary.
Sat, May 4, 5:00 PM
