Alberta claimed their second consecutive midget boys national title with a 7-2 win over Ontario at the 2018 CLA Midget Box Lacrosse National Championshipv in Calgary, Alberta this past weekend.
After opening the tournament with a 6-3 loss to Ontario, the defending champions won seven straight games to retain the midget crown – a great way to follow-up last year’s historic first-ever championship win.
Ontario finished the round-robin with a perfect 6-0 record, earning them a bye directly into the championship game. Alberta, meanwhile, needed an 8-4 win over British Columbia to punch their ticket to the finals.
Ronin Pusch paced the Alberta offense with 1 goal and 2 assists in the finals, while Max McKernan (1g, 1a) and Nikolas Amiot (2g, 0a) contributed with two points apiece. Edward Qu and Michael Andersson scored singles for Ontario.
Alberta’s defense was the difference again this year, shutting down a potent Ontario offense that had scored 63 goals in six games before the finals. Their special teams were also quite impressive throughout the tournament, finishing with a 20.75% (11 for 53) conversion rate on the power play and killing penalties at a 90.91% clip.
British Columbia defeated Nova Scotia 10-1 to take home the bronze medal.
B.C.’s offense came to life following a scoreless first period, tallying five goals in both the second and third frames to walk away with a victory. Nine different players found the back of the net for B.C., who were led on the score sheet by Kenyon Nyman (2g, 1a). Joel Broussard, meanwhile, had the lone marker for Nova Scotia.
First Nations narrowly defeated Saskatchewan by a score of 6-4 to claim the B Division crown.
Hodowas Smith (1g, 2a) and Ritchie Albert (1g, 0a) scored back-to-back goals late in the final frame to help First Nations pull away from a pesky Saskatchewan team and earn the victory. Five different First Nations players finished the game with at least two points, while Ayden Tawiyaka (1g, 1a) and Darlan Noin-Ens (0g, 2a) were the only two from Saskatchewan to reach that mark.
Alberta’s Kean Moon led the tournament in scoring with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points, while his teammate Callin Harris wasn’t far behind with 21 points on 7 goals and 14 assists. Ontario’s Edward Qu and B.C.’s Marcus Klarich each netted 10 goals.
The Alberta goaltending tandem of Caden Rotter and Trace Stewart both finished atop the leaderboard. Rotter compiled a 4-1 record and 3.60 goals against average, while Steward went 3-0 with a 2.00 GAA mark. Ontario’s Will Johnston was also quite impressive, backstopping his team with a 3-1 record and 3.50 GGA.
For more information on the event, including schedules, statistics and box scores from each game, visit https://midgetnationals.pointstreaksites.com/view/midgetnationals.
