Hanson鈥檚 Wranglers win coveted Keystone Cup
The 100 Mile House Wranglers are the best Jr. B hockey team in the west.
By Marcel Vander Wier on April 20, 2016
The 100 Mile House Wranglers are the best Jr. B hockey team in the west.
The team 鈥 which features Whitehorse forward Alex Hanson 鈥 won the Keystone Cup on Sunday with a 3-2 comeback win in overtime versus the Saskatoon Quakers.
The victory marked the end of a long playoff run for the Wranglers, which saw them win the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) as well as the Cyclone Taylor Cup to be named B.C. champions.
Held in Regina, the Keystone Cup tournament began last Thursday. It featured the top six teams in western Canada.
There is no national Jr. B championship.
The Wranglers finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 3-2 record, good enough for a berth in the final versus the previously unbeaten Quakers.
After going down 2-0 in the first period, the Wranglers slowly but surely roped the Quakers back in on goals by Ryan Friesen and Cole Zimmerman.
Zimmerman struck again with the winner, 2:35 into overtime.
Hanson picked up three assists in the tournament.
Yesterday, the 18-year-old left-winger told the Star that the enormity of winning the Keystone Cup is still only beginning to sink in.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to believe,鈥 he said from 100 Mile House, B.C., where the team returned to fanfare late Monday night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still setting in right now. ... We鈥檙e western Canada champs and we can鈥檛 win anything else now.鈥
Down 2-0 heading into the first-period break, Hanson said his club drew on their past experiences to remain calm.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been finding ways to win all year,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e felt we could win any game we put everything we had into.鈥
Hanson will return to the Yukon capital on Sunday.
After winning every Jr. B title possible this year, the rookie KIJHL forward said he has his sights set on playing Jr.鈥圓 next season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to think about how far we鈥檝e come,鈥 he said. 鈥淔rom the start of the year, we always talked about getting to go to Keystone and winning the league. ... At that point, it seemed like almost a dream.鈥
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