U18 Rep
Submitted by Head Coach Kyle Mace
The Nelson Leafs U18 Rep team had an amazing season representing their families and city all over the province. They became a family throughout the year, and these players will be friends forever after their ups and downs as a team.
The year began with some lofty goals of winning an OMAHA (Okanagan league) banner, winning the West Kootenay banner and bringing home a gold medal from the BC Championships in Port Hardy, BC.
The boys completed 2 of the 3 goals, winning a Tier 2 OMAHA banner with a record of 13-2. Playing a level up during the OMAHA season really prepared them for our West Kootenay play as well as Port Hardy.
They also took home the West Kootenay banner, beating Trail U18 in the season series, a record of 3-2-1.
The BC Championships were the end for many of the 2004 players. This was their final hockey tournament and competitive hockey. The team came out of the round robin 4-0 and that set them up to play Mission in the semifinals. They came up short, losing 3-2, not because of effort or chances as they hit 3 posts in the last 3 minutes of that game. After regrouping, the team came together to win the bronze medal. The bronze medal game is the hardest to win at these kind of championships, feeling defeated by the loss earlier in the day. They were down 2-0 with 7 minutes to go, the boys decided they were not losing their last game together, the players took over, tied the game up with 3 minutes left, setting the team up to win in overtime.
Overall an extremely successful season for all the players, everyone became a better hockey player and person.
The U18 team would like to thank Nelson Minor Hockey, BC Hockey and the officials for their support letting them play the game they love.
The players and coaches would also like to thank and give recognition to the parents and families who have supported us throughout the year.