KERROBERT— The U15 Kerrobert Tigers had a dream season, becoming U15 D provincial champions March 25 on home ice, and repeating a home arena win for the Hi-Way 14 Hockey League championship April 1.
The KDL Tigers sat atop the leaderboard at the end of the regular season with a 21-1-2 win-loss-tie record. Eston was in second place at 15-2-7, followed by Biggar/Wilkie at 16-6-2. The Unity Lazers were in fourth, 10-13-2, Kindersley in fifth, 8-11-4, Macklin in sixth, 5-14-3, Outlook in seventh, 4-14-4 and Rosetown brought up the rear with two wins and 20 losses.
All teams participated in playoffs, with Eston playing Biggar/Wilkie and Unity playing Kerrobert in the semifinals. The Biggar/Wilkie team played Eston to a 3-3 tie in game one but went down to defeat 5-2 in game two. Meanwhile, Kerrobert handily defeated Unity, 13-3 in game one and 11-1 in game two.
Game one of the final took place in Eston March 29. The Ramblers opened the scoring but the Neumeiers, Graydon from Taylor, ensured a 1-1 tie at the end of the first. Blaine McDonald, with assists from Graydon and Taylor, gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead after five and a half minutes of play in the second, but the Ramblers tied it up again before the end of the period.
Kerrobert pulled ahead 4-2 in the first two minutes of the third, courtesy of Graydon getting a hat trick, assisted by Taylor in the first instance and by Bronc Johnson in the second. By 14:45, Eston had tied it up again.
At 5:40, Taylor scored unassisted to once again push the Tigers ahead on the scoreboard, but less than a minute later Eston retaliated with a goal of their own. The win for the Tigers was assured, however, with goals by Rylan Abbott (from Aiden Fillion) and Graydon (from Taylor). The Tigers had the win in hand, 7-5, heading home for game two April 1.
At home, the Tigers led from the start, with Taylor scoring the first goal, assisted by Avery Volk. Eston tied it up before the end of the first period, but KDL shut the Ramblers out in the second and scored three goals (Graydon, unassisted; Chase Halter from Graydon and Taylor; Taylor, from Graydon and Chase). Eston made it 4-2 halfway through the third but that was Eston’s last hurrah and Avery sealed the deal for the Tigers with an unassisted last-minute goal to make the final score 5-2 for the home team.
Assistant coach Ryan Dobrosky said, right from the start of the year, he, Kurt Neumeier (head coach) and Gary Phillips (assistant coach), “all had a feeling this year was going to be special, right from the first parent meeting. We knew the kids had a lot of potential, and the abilities to make a great run at the league and provincial title.
“Our very first [league] game against Biggar/Wilkie was very tough for the boys to come together after only having one practice as a team, but we still knew something was going to click. It did in a big way! We never lost another game throughout the entire league season and playoffs, going undefeated in provincial games, only tying two games against Unity and Eston. We finished first in the league with a record of 17-1-2, and overall for the year we went 42-2-2, having lost one other game in exhibition against North Battleford.
“We were all very proud to have six players in the top 20 players of scoring and overall eight in the top 50 of the entire league. It wasn’t just those eight players that contributed; every player on our team had at least one point throughout the year.
“Going undefeated in playoffs was special (and) being able to win provincials against a very tough Shaunavon team and Eston in the league, both in our home rink was an amazing experience. It is something very few teams can say they have accomplished in their hockey careers … Winning the title on home ice in front of our fans, family and friends is something that any team strives for, and we were able to achieve it.
“Being a part of a team like that was very rewarding as a coach. Being able to form that bond with the kids, teach them a few things, and have a lot of fun all year.”
Dobrosky added all the coaches wanted to offer up some thanks.
“The kids first off for being part of such a successful year; the parents for all their support, travelling, expenses and more … in such a busy year; our managers Lyndsay Neumeier and Jenn Kwasney who did fantastic all year organizing a busy schedule to make things work; [and] our fans who came out and supported us all year, always having a packed barn at home and a great cheering section on the road. Thank you all for such a great year.”
Leading the scoring race among all Hi-Way 14 U15 players were Tigers Graydon and Taylor Neumeier with 98 and 86 points respectively. In fifth spot was Cruz Loehndorf of Macklin with 52, followed by Emerson Cey of Biggar/Wilkie, also with a total of 52 points. Rounding out the top 10 were Chase Halter, Kerrobert, 48; Daxon L’Heureux, Unity, 48; Jayce Fick, Biggar/Wilkie, 46 and Avery Volk, Kerrobert, 46.
