麻豆社区

A Yukon hockey player was part of the Sutter Cup South-winning AAA Midget AC Avalanche this season.

Fifteen-year-old Dylan McCuaig of Haines Junction helped his Alberta-based club win the championship on Sunday, March 10, putting the Avalanche in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA provincial championships currently underway in Edmonton.

The 5-foot-9, 150-pound McCuaig scored six goals and added three assists in 30 games this season.

Last year, McCuaig captained the Yukon bantam boys team at the Arctic Winter Games.

"Dylan was a welcome late edition to camp and we quickly saw someone that would fit well with the team,鈥� said Avalanche head coach Terry Sydoryk.

"As a coaching group, you look for guys that have a good foundation and are coachable. Dylan was one of those guys.鈥�

Sydoryk lauded McCuaig's skating ability, heavy shot and willingness to battle in the corners as being integral to the team's success.

"We were a lunch bucket crew and the strong work ethic of the team was something we saw early and continued to build on throughout the year,鈥� Sydoryk said.

The Avalanche finished fourth in the Southern Alberta league, then went unbeaten in Lethbridge to win the Sutter Cup South.

"It was an incredible run,鈥� Sydoryk said of his team's championship play. "Five games in four days of the best hockey this team has played. As a coaching group, we couldn't be more proud of this team.鈥�

He said his team's heart-and-soul play proved to be the difference in the eight-team tournament.

"The credit goes to the players that went out on the ice and brought their best game of the season each and every game, which meant as good as they played the last game of the tourney, they played even better the next game,鈥� said Sydoryk.

The provincial champion of Alberta will be determined in the gold medal game on Sunday.