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Alex Hanson
Hanson helps Wranglers to B.C. title
The 100 Mile House Wranglers lassoed another major hockey title on Sunday, and they aren鈥檛 done yet.
The 100 Mile House Wranglers lassoed another major hockey title on Sunday, and they aren鈥檛 done yet.
The team 鈥� which includes Whitehorse forward Alex Hanson 鈥� downed the host Victoria Cougars 5-4 last night to win the Cyclone Taylor Cup 鈥� British Columbia鈥檚 Junior B hockey championship.
The Wranglers previously won the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League on March 31.
After missing the first game of the four-team tournament on Thursday 鈥� a 4-2 loss to the Cougars 鈥� with post-concussion symptoms, Hanson returned Friday night and scored the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over the Mission City Outlaws.
The goal came on a shot from the corner after Hanson dug it free and saw the goalie floundering.
The 18-year-old left-winger added two primary assists in Saturday鈥檚 4-3 win over the defending champion Campbell鈥圧iver Storm as the Wranglers earned a rematch with the Cougars in the tournament final.
鈥淚t felt good to come back and make an immediate impact to help the team win,鈥濃�圚anson told the Star from the team bus this morning.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge accomplishment,鈥� he said of the Cyclone Taylor Cup victory.
鈥淚t was tough as there were a lot of good teams here. We just stuck to our systems and played our game.
鈥淭hat final was something else,鈥� he said of Sunday鈥檚 matchup that saw Victoria leading 4-3 with less than eight minutes remaining.
鈥淲e just said to each other: 鈥楾hat鈥檚 not the Wrangler way.鈥� And we had a lot of ups and downs earlier in the season to prepare us for that moment.鈥�
An unassisted goal by Brett Harris tied the game before a last-minute back-door snipe on the power play from Ryan Friesen 鈥� who also played with Hanson in Fort St. John two years ago 鈥� sealed the deal.
The Wranglers are now Regina-bound for the Keystone Cup 鈥� western Canada鈥檚 Jr. B championship.
The tournament marks the end of the road, as there is no national Jr. B championship.
The tournament begins Thursday and also includes Alberta鈥檚 North Peace Navigators, Saskatchewan鈥檚 Regina Capitals and Saskatoon Quakers, as well as Manitoba鈥檚 Peguis Juniors and Ontario鈥檚 Thunder Bay Northern Hawks.
Six of the last seven Keystone Cup tournaments have been won by the B.C. entry, a stat Hanson is aware of.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always pressure, whether it鈥檚 from ourselves or people outside the team,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is a great group of guys. We鈥檝e spent lots of time on the bus this season and it鈥檚 quite the connection we have.鈥�
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Comments (1)
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Patricia Larsen on Apr 12, 2016 at 7:59 pm
I started following this team while they were playing the Chase heat. I got to meet Alex after a game. I heard nothing but the best about the 100 mile wranglers, their support of their great coach. Alex has had so much family support, as his Great Grandmother, his Grandma and Papa came all the way from Chase BC. Congratulations to all the team and families.