Local Sports

“It was an awesome year. The best part about this season was how our kids got along. They bonded together and the culture the kids created in the room is the reason why we were able to win. It was just a tremendous season.”

The Cochrane Classic, an annual charity hockey game between students from Cochrane and Bow Valley high schools, took place on March 23.

After a dominant regular season and the securing of a divisional banner, the Cochrane-based Bow Valley Timberwolves U15 AA boys' hockey team is hoping to cap off the campaign with a provincial banner this Sunday.

“I think it was a pretty satisfying feeling for our team that we were able to come out with a banner and finish off a good season with a championship.”

The Xtreme will be considered a favourite to win the provincial gold, after dominating the AEHL south division with a 33-1 regular-season record and then sweeping their first two playoff opponents.

While the Chaos had thrice previously qualified for the AJFHL finals, this year marks the first time the Cochranites were able to hoist the junior league's trophy.

“I think that’ll have a trickle-down effect through the whole club and hopefully inspire others to go and try it out,” Macdonald said. “Competitions aren’t for everyone, but they are a lot of fun."

“We’re very proud of our girls,” Paradis said. “For a lot of them, it was their first year playing basketball and we’re amazed by the girls’ performance as a team."

“Having the series even now really means next weekend there’s a little bit less pressure," Nusl said. "We really earned that win, and I think it inspires confidence in the group for this upcoming weekend.”

Dahlman set three PRs to claim gold in the competition, completing a 200-kilogram (kg) squat (441 lbs), a 135-kg bench press (298 lbs), and a 240-kg deadlift (529 lbs).