For the first time in franchise history, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's (MJHL) Steinbach Pistons captured the league championship and a 麻豆社国产native was a big part of their success.
Goaltender Corey Koop was awarded the playoff MVP after an outstanding run in the postseason that saw him post a .921 save percentage and put together a goals-against average of 2.46 in 19 games.
The Pistons, who also have former 麻豆社国产resident Brendan Hopkins on the team, won the league's Turnbull Trophy with a 3-2 win against the Dauphin Kings on April 17.
"There isn't a team in this league who deserved it more than us," Koop told the Manitoba media. "A lot of people called it a fairytale story. I don't think so - Dauphin was the underdogs. We wanted it more and got it."
It's the final year of junior hockey for Koop, but it's not over yet as the win means the Pistons will move on to the Western Canada Cup (WCC) in Nanaimo from April 26 to May 5.
The WCC will see the top junior teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. battle it out to be named the best in the West. After round-robin play and a knockout round, the WCC champion and the runner-up will compete at the RBC Cup in Prince Edward Island in May against top teams in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes to crown a national champion.
Koop wasn't the only Squamolean to win hockey hardware as Bret Higham and the Richmond Sockeyes were crowned the best Junior B team in Western Canada after winning the Keystone Cup with a 5-2 win over the Saskatoon Royals in St. Malo, Man., on Sunday (April 21).
Richmond dominated the tournament, winning all six games they played and outscoring their opposition 44-12.
"It's been a swell time Winnipeg," Higham tweeted after the tournament. "Couldn't have ended it any better."
The hockey year is now over for Higham but he told The Chief that he's looking to join up with a British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) team next season and will also attend a NHL pre-draft showcase in Boston in early May. It's the first year for the Garibaldi Highlands resident to be draft eligible as he sports a late 2012 birthday.
Stay tuned to The Chief for move coverage on how Koop, Hopkins and the Steinbach Pistons fare at the WCC.
