CANORA - After both teams won their way through the early rounds of the Major Hockey League U15 A Banner playoffs, the Highway 9 Predators and the Langenburg Warriors met in the best-of-three A Banner championship final.
The Predator roster includes players from Canora, Norquay, Preeceville, Sturgis, Kamsack and Buchanan,
After falling behind with a 4-2 loss in Game 1 at Canora, the Warriors bounced back with 6-3 and 8-1 wins on home ice to take the series and the championship.
Game 1
Game 1 hit the ice in Canora on March 24, and the Preds never trailed to get an early jump in the series. The teams were tied 1-1 after the opening 20 minutes, but thanks to a pair of power play goals, the Preds carried a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. The teams traded single goals in a relatively even third period, wrapping up the win for the home team.
Zarin Godhe of Buchanan led the winners with a pair of goals. Kasen Heshka of Canora and Gavin Erickson of Preecevlle chipped in with a goal each, and Erickson added an assist. The top playmakers were Nate Korpusik of Norquay and Ethan Balawyder of Preeceville with a pair of assists each.
Preds Coach Terry Demchuk said the team’s game plan against the first-place Warriors was particularly effective during the regular season, and also through Game 1, “which required primarily a high degree of effort and a very simple defensive strategy, it was effective during the two regular season games which allowed us to be the only team to beat Langenburg in both league games, and that carried to the first game of the league finals in Canora with us taking a 4-2 victory.”
Game 2
The two teams hit the ice for Game 2 in Langenburg on March 27, with the Warriors taking full advantage of playing on home ice. The teams were tied 2-2 after the first period, but a four-goal second period outburst powered the Warriors to victory.
Goal scorers for the Predators were Nate Korpusik of Norquay, Seth Symak of Kamsack, and Zarin Godhe of Buchanan. Playmakers with one assist each were Levi Coleman of Sturgis, Gavin Erickson of Preeceville and Declan Lowe, Ashton Strelioff and Caden Doogan, all of Canora.
“It was here we first faltered against them with a very uninspired effort” said Demchuk, “where we were outplayed in almost every aspect with the exception of goaltending in losing Game 2.”
Game 3
It all came down to third and deciding game in Langenburg on March 30, with the coveted A Banner championship going to the winners. The outcome was never really in doubt, as the Warriors led 3-1 and 7-1 at the intermissions. The only goal for the Preds came from Zarin Godhe of Buchanan, with his fourth of the series, assisted by Carter Moekerk of Preeceville.
“Game 3 saw us with a chance to win the Banner but it was not to be,” said Demchuk, “as we didn’t match Langenburg’s intensity and commitment to gameplay and positioning. Penalty trouble saw us down 3-1 after the first period. After the 10-minute mark of the second Langenburg capitalized on mistakes and ran away with the game.”
Plenty of highlights
Even though the season came to a disappointing end for the Predators, there were a number of highlights to remember along the way.
Coach Demchuk said the season was a success, starting with bringing together players from six different communities, “most of whom had never played with each other before and individually had very little success in the past. But together they won an A side tournament, the B side of another tournament and made a B side final in another.
“In provincial playoffs we played teams in the B division from towns like Carlyle and Esterhazy who picked up players for that division. We did win the opening round against Esterhazy in a very tight series but fell to Carlyle in the next round.
“The Preds finished second in regular season play in the Major Hockey League with a record of 19 wins and 3 losses behind only Langenburg who went 20 wins and 2 losses.”
Demchuk said pretty much every player on the roster showed significant growth throughout the season.
“That is a difficult feat considering the need for team chemistry in a game like hockey. So many of these players had never played together before and having a huge roster of 22 players, we were required to sit two players every game, which forced line and lineup changing every game. It also poses challenges in practicing systems and skills in practices with that many players.”
Members of the 2024/25 U15 Highway 9 Predators were: Cameron Sznerch, Wade Vangen, Shiloh Leson, Declan Lowe, Caden Doogan, Emmett Demchuk, Ashton Strelioff, Kasen Heshka and Mason Reine of Canora; Emmett Lukey, Lise Nokinsky and Nate Korpusik of Norquay; Ethan Balawyder, Bostin Smith, Gavin Erickson, Carter Moekerk and Henrie Bertram of Preeceville; Levi Coleman and Keltyn Konkel of Sturgis; Carson Chernoff and Seth Symak of Kamsack, and Zarin Godhe of Buchanan.
Joining Demchuk are assistant coaches were: Jeff Sznerch of Canora, Jared Lukey and Jesse Nokinsky of Norquay, and Riley Erickson of Preeceville. Serving as team manager was Maggie Lukey of Norquay.
Like most minor hockey teams, Demchuk expects significant roster turnover heading into next season.
“There will be a few players moving on from this squad to U18 and it sounds like they will be playing in different places next year: Gavin Erickson, Bostin Smith, Emmett Lukey, Seth Symak, Shiloh Leson, Emmett Demchuk and Declan Lowe.
“It was a good year and many new relationships with a lot of good people were forged, but it is unlikely this group will get to play again together in the future,” concluded Demchuk.
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