Vegreville Wranglers U18 A Team Wins League Championship

Vegreville Wranglers U18 A Team Wins League Championship

Captain Ethan Bast and Northern Alberta Interlock Liaison Ryan Warawa.

(Vegreville Wranglers/ Submitted Photo)

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Members of the Vegreville Wranglers U18 A team finished off the season by winning the U18 Tier 3 Northern Alberta Interlock Hockey League championship on March 13.

Head Coach Trevor Ogrodnick was thrilled with the final outcome, and said they had a really good season finishing with a record of 12-3-3 for 27 points.

“We were a very well rounded team with exceptional goaltending and team commitment to defence and systems. We had a close group of kids that all got along. They were able to gel even more on the bus trips we took to Drayton Valley, Hinton and Fort McMurray.

Another factor in the team’s success was the strong leadership group of third year players. Ogrodnick acknowledged the efforts of Captain Ethan Bast, Assistant Captains Dawson Palamarek, Colby Warawa, and Aiden Douglas Krill as well as Ryan Ogrodnick and goaltender Dylan Batog.

Ogrodnick recapped the playoffs by stating, “We had a bit of a shaky start to playoffs tying Wetaskiwin 4-4 in Vegreville. Going back to Wetaskiwin for game two, which was a nail biter, with Ethan Bast scoring on a shorthanded penalty shot to break the ice.

Back row L-R: Assistant Coach Brian Bilyk, Head Coach Trevor Ogrodnick, Aiden Douglas Krill, Colby Warawa, Ryan Ogrodnick, Kade Dickinson, Dawson Palamarek, Ethan Bast, Connor Webb, Logan Bork, Wyatt Ziegler and Assistant Coach James Couch. Front row L-R: Jack Harrison, Tristan Bilyk, Colton Boyko, Dylan Batog, Max Kokotyn and Carter Ogrodnick.

(Vegreville Wranglers/Submitted Photo)

Next up was Redwater who we battled hard all year. Game 1 in Vegreville went to us 6-4. Game 2 back in Redwater the boys came out a bit slow and got down a couple goals in the second period but couldn’t battle back. Game 3 back in Vegreville the boys came out on a mission scoring in the first minute of both the first and third periods. With solid goaltending from third year stopper Dylan Batog, and an overall strong team game, the game was never in doubt, and we prevailed 4-1.

Soon, the team will be heading to Brooks to compete in Provincials. Ogrodnick went to Provincials as a player in peewee and senior hockey and as a coach with the Jr B’s. “It is very difficult to get to provincials, you must win your league in order to get to go. For some of these kids it is their first time and once in a lifetime opportunity.”