March 30th to April 3rd was a weekend that six Chestermere boys will not soon forget. After a long weekend of excitement, it all boiled down to the final game where the undefeated Burnaby Winter Club Bruins and host Rocky Mountain Raiders earned their spots in the Sunday gold medal game of the Bantam AAA Western Canadian Championships at Okotoks’ Pason Centennial Arena.
The Rocky Mountain Raiders have a strong Chestermere representation with Hassan Akl #9 (Forward); Kyle Crnkovic # 14 (Forward); Tarun Fizer #15 (Forward); Ryan Conroy #8 (Defence); Jackson Berry # 1 (Goalie); Majid Kaddoura #3 (Defence). The team also has player Connor Bertamini from Langdon and was the only bantam aged player from Langdon to make this team and the only representative from Indus Minor Hockey Association.
This gold medal game was a close one as Ryan Conroy scored the 2nd goal tying it 2-2. But after a nail biting game, the Burnaby Winter Club came out triumphant in a thrilling 3-2 win in the gold medal game of the Western Canadian Bantam AAA Championships. Conroy also got the MVP award on the gold game.
With these young men have a stellar season but then struggling through the playoffs, making it to the gold medal game of this championship tournament was a huge feat and also just the beginning for some of these amazing players.
Ryan Conroy’s hockey season will continue as he continues forward to play in the upcoming AB Cup tournament end of April. Conroy (Defence) and Tarun Fizer (Forward) both from Chestermere, have both been selected to play in the AB Cup to be held in Canmore April 28-May1, 2016. Both will be playing and representing Team South. “They were chosen out of a group of 120 boys trying out for the South zone 2 weekends ago in Lethbridge”, explains Ryan’s mom Connie Parchoma.
The Alberta Cup will be held in Canmore on April 27th – May 1st. The Alberta Cup provides players, coaches, trainers, administrators and referees an equal opportunity to discover the great qualities of competitive hockey in a well-organized and fair Zone Camp and Select Team competition. The 2016 competition, set in the Canadian Rockies, will feature 5 days of top-level instruction and evaluations from professionals identified by Hockey Alberta.
Congratulations to the Okotoks Raiders for their silver medal win and good luck to our Chestermere boys representing at the Alberta Cup!
