The Fenlands arena will have yet another banner rise into its hallowed wooden rafters.
The Banff Bears won the Midget Tier 3 CAHL championship, Thursday (March 22) by defeating Cochrane two games to one in the three game series.
Banff clinched the title with a 9-7 win over Cochrane in Canmore. Joe Bush scored a hat trick and Oliver Wolf bagged two goals in the final to secure the win.
“This group really came together as a team,” said head coach Bill Doherty.
Bush, Thomas McChesney and Jamie Riley led the attack for Banff and their offensive prowess was required in the final. The home squad came out hard, and was ahead 4-3 after the first period. In the second, they appeared to take over with a 7-4 lead. However, Cochrane kept battling back. Twice Banff gave up three goal leads, but they were able to hang on for the win.
Doherty had high praise for his players, singling out Bush, McChesney and Riley for their strong play.
“They were the most dominant line in the league,” Doherty said.
The team, which consisted of three Banff players, eight Canmore players, two Morley players and seven international players from the Banff Hockey Academy, had to gel quickly. It’s the third year the Bow Valley has joined forces in order to ice a midget squad, and the partnership has proven worthwhile.
Banff defeated Chestermere to reach the final, but were in tough in the first game against Cochrane. The team was without Bush, who was lost to suspension, however, they battled to a 5-4 loss in double overtime.
Seeking revenge, Banff tightened its defence in the second match and earned a 5-2 win.
“The boys came out focused on that one,” Doherty said.
That set up the rubber match, and Banff prevailed. Doherty said the team overcame several changes and quickly gelled in the face of stiff competition.
“The team was dynamic because of the nature of the team. It was made up of Banff, Canmore, Morley and our international BHA players that came from Mexico, New Zealand, Japan and Turks and Caicos,” Doherty said.
