INNISFAIL – The AA U-15 midget Hockey Central Panthers are league champions in their inaugural season.
The Central Alberta team swept the St. Albert Royals in the best-of-five championship series in Sylvan Lake on March 21.
“We played a best of five and we took it in three games,” said Lane Moore, head coach. “St. Albert was a good team. They were our biggest competitors all year so to beat them in three (games) was quite the accomplishment.
“We really started to come together as a group and we were playing some of our best hockey,” added Moore. “I’m really proud of them.”
The Panthers finished the regular season with a record of 19 wins, four losses and four ties. Their playoff record was as impressive with 10 wins and two losses.
The team was composed of players from across Central Alberta and pulled them from hockey associations in three hubs and surrounding communities. Those hubs included Sylvan Lake, Lacombe and Olds.
Several local players who made the team this season included forwards Gerrit Handford from Innisfail, Kaleb Kremp and Ty Bjarnason from Olds, and defenceman and team captain, Ben Christian from Spruce View.
The team came together last summer to give 15-year-old hockey players in Central Alberta a chance to develop their skills at the AA level, said Moore.
The Hockey Central Panthers joined the Red Deer TBS Chiefs as the only two rural teams in the 10-team Rural & Edmonton Midget Hockey League (REMHL) this season.
“Central Alberta is a really strong hub for hockey,” said Moore.
“We felt it was very important that we provide another tiered level for that U-15 group in Central Alberta. That’s why Red Deer and the rural areas decided to get these two teams up and running,” he added, noting the tough competition for 15-year-old players. “It’s really tough to go back home and make the midget AA teams because there’s 15-,16- and 17-year-olds on those teams.”
A total of 19 highly skilled players made the Hockey Central Panthers this year, said Moore, adding a great team effort and excellent coaching staff contributed to their success.
“They all came in at the start of the season with a work hard mentality. They bought in from Day 1 and they put in the time and energy,” he said.
With their inaugural success, Moore hopes to see the team continue next season.
“My idea was to help build this program and hopefully, now that it’s established, it’ll continue to be as successful as it was this year,” Moore concluded.
