Spruce Grove gearing up for next challenge
AJHL champions taking aim at spot in RBC Cup
The Spruce Grove SPRUCE GROVE Saints did not have much time to savour their latest Alberta Junior Hockey League title before focusing on the next hurdle.
Spruce Grove claimed their fifth AJHL championship since 2010 with a 3-2 victory, on the road, against the Okotoks Oilers on Friday, winning the best-of-seven series 4-1.
The Saints were back on the ice Tuesday at the Grant Fuhr Arena to prepare for the Doyle Cup against the British Columbia Hockey League champion Wenatchee Wild in a best-of-seven series. The winner of the series will represent the Pacific at the RBC Cup National Junior A Championship May 1220 in Chilliwack, B.C.
“It kind of reminds me of Major League Baseball, where you win a series then you’re partying hard and then you win the next and you’re partying hard, and then have to get refocused,” said Saints forward Chase Olsen. “We had a day to have some fun, and then the next day we went back to work, prepping and watching video and stuff.
“We have a motto that you’re always blue-headed, you’re never too high or too low, but you’re right in the moment. We know this is one stepping stone, but we see the big picture in the end and that’s really what you’re playing for.”
The Saints were 12-1 in the playoffs on their way to the AJHL championship. Their only loss came in Game 4 of the final against Okotoks.
“There were a lot of close games that we won,” said Saints head coach Bram Stephen. “You kind of hope it’s not a law of averages, but our guys have come back from behind a few times and they just don’t quit. They stayed pretty relentless, pretty calm and composed, and executed the game plan.”
Spruce Grove had to overcome a lot of adversity both on and off the ice this season on their way to the championship. They were affected by the Humboldt Broncos bus crash on April, 6, which claimed the lives of two former teammates, Conner Lukan and Parker Tobin, who were among the 16 casualties.
“This team had also gone through some things earlier on in the year with some of our players and their family members,” Stephen said. “The group went all through it all together and as the year went along, the commitment level, the intensity level and the details seem to elevate at a gradual level and the group was very clutch and consistent during their playoff run. We’re very proud of the accomplishment, very proud to do that for our management and ownership group, they were very supportive of the players, and we’re looking forward to trying to keep doing it.”
Game 1 of the Doyle Cup is Friday in Wenatchee, Wash., with the second game the following night. If the teams split the first two games of the series, they will play a third game in Wenatchee before returning to Spruce Grove for the remainder of the series. If either team sweeps the first two games, then the scene will shift to Spruce Grove for the remainder of the series.
Our guys have come back from behind a few times and they just don’t quit. They stayed pretty relentless, pretty calm and composed.
“I think we’ll be well-prepared for them,” said Saints forward Logan Ganie. “We’ll watch a lot of video on them, and we’ll be ready to go when we get there.”
Wenatchee defeated the Prince George Spruce Kings 4-1 to win the BCHL championship, becoming the first American-based franchise to win the title since the Bellingham Blazers in 1979.
“They’ve got a lot of really good offensive players, guys that have a lot of individual skill that can take guys on one-on-one,” Stephen said. “They have four or five forwards that are very dangerous and defencemen that move the puck well, as well. They have a big goalie and they’re going to be a detailed-orientated team, maybe not quite the pace and physicality Okotoks was, but they’re going to be better in support and details in the game.”
Unfortunately for the Saints, they will go into the series without leading scorer Chris Van Os- Shaw, who sustained a broken figure blocking a shot in Game 3 against the Oilers.
Van Os-Shaw had 51 goals and 97 points this season on his way to being named the AJHL’s Most Valuable Player.
“He’s an amazing player, as everybody knows, and also an awesome guy off the ice,” Olsen said. “He still carries that presence in the room, being a great role model and pushing us when we need to. Both the younger and older guys have to try and step up to fill his role, everybody is going to have to do a little bit more.”