After a 19-year wait, the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) trophy is finally returning to Airdrie. The Airdrie Techmation Thunder capped off a memorable 2018-19 HJHL campaign by clinching its third league championship – its first since 2000 – with a 10-5 win March 26 against the Coaldale Copperheads. The goal-filled final game was an appropriate way to end the campaign, according to head coach Derek Stamp. “We had so many games where we seemed to put a lot of pucks in the net,” he said. “It was nice to end it that way. Full marks to Coaldale – they played us hard all series.” The Thunder ended the regular season 35-3-0, finishing at the top of the HJHL North Division. The post season saw similar dominance, with Airdrie ousting the Blackfalds Wranglers in a four-game sweep, the Mountainview Colts in six hard-fought games, and the Copperheads in a three-game sweep. Boasting a cohort of former Junior A players and talent all over the ice, the Thunder generated an average of more than eight goals per game throughout the year, skating to a 46-5-0 record. Astonishingly, the top five scorers during the HJHL regular season all played for Airdrie. For its efforts, the team was ranked the strongest Junior B side in Canada by myhockeyrankings.com “This is a special group of hockey players,” Stamp said. “They’re close, they’re super talented. They deserve this enjoyment and, hopefully, we can keep it going at provincials.” The Thunder clinched the championship by making short work of the South-Division-winning Copperheads. But while Airdrie dominated the series on paper, outscoring Coaldale 19-10 over three games, players were quick to point out the series was a battle. “They played a good game, but we just had more energy and a bit more effort,” said 21-year-old forward Rylan Plante-Crough. “Especially in their barn, they had a lot of energy. We just got a couple of bounces this game and put them in the ground.” Plante-Crough was one of the stars of the final fixture. Playing in his fourth season in the HJHL and his third with the Thunder, the Airdrie native finished his final junior game in the Ron Ebbesen Arena with three goals and three assists March 26, marking his ninth tally and 21st point of the post-season. “It means so much because I’ve lost to the champion for the past two years,” said Plante-Crough, who ended the regular season with 50 goals and 103 points. “It’s finally good to beat them and be the champion now. It feels good, because losing twice sucks, but now, I’m on top.” Though he wasn’t able to feature during the final series due to a concussion, team captain Jacob MacDonald was another local player who lifted the trophy. “It means a lot,” he said. “I’m just super proud of the guys for how they pulled off the season. From start to finish, this season, we competed every night. “It feels a bit surreal, to be honest. It didn’t even feel like the third game tonight. It’s just been flying by.” While the HJHL season is now wrapped up, the Thunder will contest for one more title when the team competes at the Junior B provincial championship, to be held in Wetaskiwin April 4 to 7. “We’ll let them enjoy this, and then we’ll regroup over the weekend – get them back on the ice for a quick skate, a quick meeting and we’ll make sure they’re ready to go for provincials,” Stamp said.
