Chiefs win league championship

By Mario Prusina Times Editor

With their back against the wall and on the brink of elimination, the Wheatland Chiefs dug deep and prevailed as league champs.

After claiming the South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL) south championship the weekend before, the local U18AA team battled the West Central Tigers for the league championship and a berth in the upcoming provincials.

Things didn’t go according to plan in Game 1 during the best-of-three championship series, as the host Chiefs uncharacteristically gave up three first period goals and trailed 5-0 late in the second period, en route to a 5-2 loss.

With their season on the line, Adam Hakim and Brandon McGillivray provided the necessary offence to propel the Chiefs to a 2-1 road win on March 19, evening the series 1-1.

With the league championship and a provincial berth on the line, the Chiefs gutted out a 3-1 home win on March 20 in Game 3. Cole Dermott scored twice and Carter Gosling scored the opening goal as the Chiefs completed the series comeback.

The SCAHL champs will now prepare for the upcoming U18 AA Alberta Provincial Championships on March 31 to April 3 at the Stu Peppard Arena in Calgary.

The Chiefs open the provincial tournament on March 31 (12 p.m.) when they take on the NWCAA U18AA Stamps.

It is no April Fools joke the following day however, as the Chiefs play a pair of games beginning with a 9:30 a.m. contest versus U18AA CAC Butchers and Packers. The team will have to quickly regroup as they take on the CRAA U18AA Blue at 6:15 p.m.

The Chiefs close out the round robin portion of the schedule when they face the U18AA Wainwright Polar Kings on April 2 at 5:30 p.m.

The Top 2 teams in the round robin will meet for the provincial championship on April 3 (3:30 p.m.), while the third and fourth place teams battle for bronze at 12:30 p.m.