After finishing eighth in regular-season action, the Airdrie-Cochrane (AC) Avalanche stunned the AMMHL by finishing with a silver medal at Sutter Cup South in Lethbridge over the weekend of Mar. 10-13, walking away with a 2-2-1 record.
“We knew we had nothing to lose,” said Avs head coach Kenton Levesque. “We were definitely the underdogs, so we played that role.”
Avs opened their group with a 1-1 draw against CBHA Blackhawks, before falling 4-1 to NWCAA Bruins in the second game. The Cochrane-based team needed to win their final group game against CRAA Gold by three goals, and they did not disappoint, running away 6-2 winners, thanks to goals from Cole Reinhardt (two), Eric Van Tetering, Scott Shugg, Ben Davison, and Joel Shoemaker.
“To win by four was great,” Levesque said.
“Gold pulled their goalie and we scored two empty netters. They were trying to help themselves out, but it backfired in our favour. It was a huge factor.”
Avs built off that momentum, and issued some payback against Bruins in the semi-final, running away with another 6-2 scoreline. Josh Kroon (two), Jacob Des Rosiers (two), Austin Wong, and Van Tetering all getting on the scoreboard.
“It was the best game we’ve played this year,” Levesque revealed.
“From start to finish we were the best team on the ice, and absolutely dominated play. Our goalie Erik Hanna was outstanding.”
After a mentally and physically draining weekend, Levesque’s team went into the final against second-seeded CBHA Rangers on Mar. 13 with memories of a 10-1 regular-season loss serving as motivation.
“Being the underdog was no more evident than in the final,” Levesque said. “They probably thought they had the gold medal in the bag, so we figured we could sneak one away from them.”
Reinhardt, Kroon, and Davison all bagged goals for Avs, but it proved to be not enough as they fell admirably, 5-3.
“At the end of the day, they were too much for us and we ran out of gas,” Levesque admitted. “We missed a couple of golden opportunities, but to be there until the final buzzer is something I’m incredibly proud of. The coaching staff is so happy with how the team has progressed this year.
“To lose wasn’t what we had in mind, but I think once the players look back in a couple of weeks at the big picture, they’ll be happy with themselves.”
Avs are next set to take part in provincials, starting Mar. 23 at Max Bell Arena in Calgary.
