INNISFAIL – Hard work and a little determination by players, including several Innisfail boys, helped the AA Olds Midget Grizzlys of the South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL) earn a gold medal in a recent tournament.
They won the 2019 Olds Grizzlys Midget AA Classic, hosted by the AJHL Olds Grizzlys, from Nov 28 to Dec 1.
The Grizzlys downed the Calgary Blackhawks 5-2 in the final to win the gold medal.
“We won all four games and we beat the Blackhawks in the final,” said Ron Doig, head coach, noting it was a well fought effort after a busy month.
“I think they were tired. Entering the tournament there we were on a long stretch for a lot of games in a row, for the month up to that,” said Doig. “It was actually the third tournament we were in for the season.”
Doig noted two other close tournaments this season where the team lost in the final and in the semifinal of the Edge tournament in Calgary.
“I think maybe it was more of a relief for the boys to actually finish one out,” he added.
About six teams from across Alberta took part in the tournament, noted Doig, adding the annual tournament has been ongoing for years and is an event the AA Olds Grizzlys have won before.
Five of the boys on the Grizzlys hail from Innisfail. Forwards Gerrit Handford, Konnor Green, and Keenan Green, along with defencemen Tyler Arnold, who was called up for the tournament, and Jonah Slaney, all contributed to their team’s gold medal.
Doig said there were several factors that earned them the victory.
“I think just the fact that we’re balanced. We don’t’ really have any all-stars, we got pretty much everybody contributing all the time,” said Doig. “It makes us tough to play against.
“They all just contribute,” he added about the Innisfail players. “That’s what we push here is we all play the same game, the same system and everybody contributes.”
The tournament win is an indication of the team’s direction after a slow start to the season, noted Doig.
“We didn’t have a good start. We were winning two, losing one, winning three, losing three kind of a thing,” he said. “Probably just over a month, I think we’ve won 10 out of our last 11 (games) here recently. We’ve kind of turned the corner and got everybody playing the way we need them to and we’re starting to look like a better team that’s hard to play against,” he added.
It’s a path they want to continue.
“I think we just got to keep doing what we’ve started to do here, which is be a hard group to play against and be committed to what we’re trying to do here as a team,” said Doig. “We’re just going to keep building until the first week of March when playoffs start.”
