Airdrie Lightning players had a taste of the big time at the second annual Western Canada Showdown AA Midget Hockey Tournament, Dec. 12 to 15 at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary.
The invitational tourney, cohosted by the Global Sport Academy and the Calgary Royals Athletic Association, featured 12 midget AA hockey teams from Canada’s four westernmost provinces.
After playing four games in three days, the Lightning rebounded from back-to-back defeats in its first two fixtures to record a tie and a win in its last two games. Airdrie ended the tournament with a 1-2-1 record to finish in ninth place.
“I was much more pleased by our finish,” head coach Kyle Finch said.
The Lightning kicked off the weekend Dec. 13 against the North Zone Kings, a team from Vernon, B.C. Despite taking a 4-2 lead into the third period, Airdrie stumbled in the final stanza, conceding three early goals to lose 5-4.
The Airdrie @AA_Lightning are two periods into their first game at the Western Canada Midget AA Showdown tournament at Max Bell. They’re up 4-2 over a team from the NZ Kings, a team from Vernon. pic.twitter.com/OuGaa4p2oj
— Scott Strasser (@scottstrasser19) December 13, 2019
“When we went into the third period, I think we got too above ourselves,” said captain Justin LeGrandeur, a 17-year-old defenseman. “We underestimated them, and they came into the period with a hard start. It broke us down, we got a bit scrambly and they were able to capitalize.”
The next game was another disappointment – and perhaps a case of déjà vu – as the Lightning again conceded three goals in the third period to fall 4-2 to the Prairie Storm.
The squad shook off the setback later that afternoon, clawing back from a 2-0 deficit in the first period to earn a 4-4 draw with the Camrose Vikings.
The team’s winless record in Pool B meant Airdrie had to take on the Beaumont Braves Dec. 15 in the ninth-place consolation game. Playing for pride, the Lightning put forward its best showing of the weekend, according to Finch, beating the Braves 4-2 in a physical encounter. Josh Falhman scored the winning tally on a Lightning penalty kill in the third period, before Daytn Kulynich registered the insurance marker a few minutes later.
“We didn’t quit,” Finch said. “In other games we might have made decisions that led to other outcomes, but I felt we did a lot of small things right [against Beaumont]. We stuck to details and took advantage of our opportunities in the final game to see out the weekend on a positive note.”
A priority of the tournament was offering the AA players an opportunity to impress the many junior and collegiate scouts in attendance. Finch said representatives from junior A and B programs from across western Canada expressed interest in eight of his players throughout the weekend.
“That was the really positive thing, to give the players that type of exposure,” he said. “[The organizers] really want to turn this tournament into the next Mac’s midget tournament for the AA level, and I thought they did a really good job of it.”
Another way organizers took a professional approach, according to Finch, was through social media engagement. Players and coaches were interviewed on camera before and after each game, and the interviews were broadcast on the tournament’s official Twitter account.
“I thought that was a really nice touch, as well,” he said. “It made the social media impact and professionalism look really good, but it also gave the kids that experience of talking to media and coming up with something on the spot.
“It most definitely was [the first interview] for a lot of them.”
POSTGAME: @AA_Lightning's Zach Cormier on the huge momentum swing in the 3rd #WCShowdown #hockeycalgary pic.twitter.com/qfvHlkcMTd
— Western Canada Showdown (@WCShowdown) December 15, 2019
Finch added he hopes the Lightning can continue competing in annual event, which is only in its second year.
“I think there was a considerable waiting list for teams, so we were very lucky to get in and have the opportunity to play against other high-level competition from across western Canada,” he said. “I think we’d definitely go back, based on the level of competition, the professionalism of the tournament and how well it was executed.”
The Northwest Calgary Athletic Association Bruins ultimately won the tournament, defeating the host Calgary Royals 3-2 in the gold-medal game.
