A pair of Okotoks skaters had the inside edge on a first-time championship experience.
Okotokians Brayden Schwartz and Samuel Laplante and the Edge School Mountaineers authored a 3-2 overtime victory over NAX to claim the Canadian Sport School Hockey League U18 Prep Western Championship Sunday in the Okanagan.
“I’ve never made it to a league final like this so finishing it off like this is awesome,” said Schwartz, a 2006-born forward. “It’s giving me some confidence going forward and we’ll see what the future brings for me.”
Schwartz, Laplante and Okotoks minor hockey alumnus Lochlan Tetarenko helped the Mountaineers navigate a dramatic playoff weekend in Penticton.
“This is my first championship ever,” said Laplante, a Regina Pats prospect. “It was a great experience, it’s definitely one of the hardest leagues to win so that’s also a big accomplishment.
“It’s a great memory to have now.”
Edge won its pool with victories over Calgary International Hockey Academy, Shawnigan Lake and Delta Hockey Academy by a combined margin of 19-7.
The script flipped in the playoff round where a shootout and overtime were required.
In the semifinal, Okotoks eclipsed the host Okanagan Hockey Academy 6-5 in a shootout.
Edge blueliner Landon Dupont, a highly-touted 2009-born prospect, scored the late equalizer to force the extra-session.
Laplante, a 2007-born defenceman, said it was a challenge to shut down OHA’s top line featuring twin brothers Markus and Liam Ruck and Mathis Preston.
“They brought their entire school out to support them, that got into our heads and made the environment a lot more stressful,” Laplante said. “We just had to keep on fighting and make sure we brought our own energy from the bench.”
In the final, Edge bested NAX, which finished two points ahead of the Mountaineers for tops in the regular season standings, in overtime.
“We knew all season long that at some point, if we wanted to win the championship, we would have to beat NAX,” Schwartz said. “We had a tough regular season against them, going 1-3, but we knew what we had to do, to stay disciplined against them.
“It’s Alberta rivals playing against each other in three different (divisions) Edge versus NAX in the final and we had to make sure we won one of them at least.”
Luke Vlooswyk, a Red Deer Rebels prospect from Calgary, notched the game-winner at the 7:51 mark of OT.
“We just had to treat it like a normal game and try and stay calm,” Laplante said. “The week before, we were practising for that very moment by doing 3-on-3 hockey before practice.”
It’s the second consecutive championship for the Edge U18 Prep team under the guidance of bench boss James Poole, the Okotoks Jr. A Oilers’ head coach from 2010-16.
“He’s a great coach,” said Schwartz. “He knows how to win games, win leagues, you’ve seen that with making the final three years in a row. He makes sure you play the right way.
“I learned a lot over the year, everyone did.”
