March/April Carillon Sports Year in Review
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MATEYCHUK LEADS WARRIORS TO WHL CHAMPIONSHIP
Cousins, first round draft picks and former Eastman teammates Owen Pickering and Denton Mateychuk faced off in the Western Hockey League playoffs, with Mateychuk’s Moose Jaw Warriors coming out on top over the Swift Current Broncos. Steinbach’s Luke Mistelbacher also played for the Broncos.
Mateychuk finished off his junior career by winning the WHL’s top defenseman award. All those awards over the years paled in comparison to accepting the WHL championship trophy as the team’s captain and taking it back to his teammates.
“You play for moments like that,” Mateychuk said a couple days later, remembering the feeling as he brought the trophy back to his waiting teammates.
“To celebrate, to win with your teammates, it’s a flood of emotions when you hoist that trophy.”
LOCAL TEAMS GO BACK-TO-BACK
Both the South East Manitoba Hockey League’s Ste Anne Aces and Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League’s Steinbach Huskies made repeating as champions look easy, clinching their respective titles in convincing fashion this year.
The Huskies made things difficult for themselves in game four of the finals against Springfield, falling behind 3-0 before a pair of Ian Friesen goals helped to tie the game.
“We knew we could do it, we’ve done it before,” Friesen said on the comeback.
“We kept high. One goal at a time, one shift at a time, one battle at a time. That’s how we ran it today, that’s how we’ve been running it all year. We didn’t lose any faith.”
From there, Steinbach showed the nearly perfect form they had in a post-season where they out-scored their opposition 85-18. They won the game
The Aces made equally short work of Warren in their league championship, cruising to a series sweep over the Warren Mercs in the final, including a dominant 7-0 victory in game four in Warren.
“We knew what we needed to do,” Ste Anne captain Brenden Walker said after the game.
“We knew what was at stake, and we just couldn’t give them life. You give a team like this some life and they can take it and run with it.”
The Aces have won championships both years they’ve played in the SEMHL after joining the league post COVID-19 pandemic.
WARRIORS WIN 1ST CRJHL TITLE
The St Malo Warriors found the perfect way to celebrate their 30th anniversary season, picking up a championship win in dramatic fashion.
St Malo fell down 2-0 in the championship series against the Beausejour Comets, before storming back to win four straight and take the trophy.
It was redemption for a team that came up short in the finals last season.
“It was just our time,” team head coach and general manager Ralph Collette said.
“Hockey’s about bounces, but we’re still around after 30 years, so we must be doing something right.”
LOEPPKY’S MONZA TEAM REACHES ITALIAN FINALS
The best volleyball league in the world is the Italian SuperLega, and Steinbacher Eric Loeppky certainly turned heads this season.
He helped an underdog Monza squad to appearances in three separate championships, and drew attention from Lube, the team in the league with the best recent track record.
“Their legacy is probably the best in the world in the last 10 years in terms of championship wins in Italy and champions league,” Loeppky said.
“What drew me to them, honestly, was they wanted me.”
Lube bought out Loeppky from his contract and signed the Canadian international to a big deal. Before the transfer could be completed, Loeppky helped Monza upset Lube in the league quarterfinals.
“Having the practical demonstration of his qualities was the only happy note of an afternoon ended by Lube with a defeat,” a translated statement from Lube general manager Beppe Cormio read.
“On that occasion we experienced first-hand the certainty of having purchased a player who will be a protagonist in Civitanova and will be a protagonist in the next SuperLega.”