The Ballhogz are living large after earning two championships this season.
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Going undefeated in five games at provincials in Calgary this summer, the Sherwood Park U18 Ballhogz went into the Western Challenge Cup (WCC) optimistic that they were able to take on the competition.
“We liked this group from day one, but everyone always says that the B.C. teams are a different beast. We just told the guys that we play our game, not the opponents and we’ll take our chances,” said the BallHogz assistant coach James Schnepper.
With the tournament hosted in Edmonton, the Ballhogz went 3-1 in the round robin with a huge 8-1 victory over the defending WCC champions Ridge Meadows Renegades out of B.C. in their last game and claimed first place in the pool, which landed them in a semi-final against B.C.’s Valley Venom.
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Goalie Ty Willard earned a shutout with 15 saves and Brady Semeniuk padded the Park’s lead with a goal halfway through the third period to make it 2-0.
The championship game saw the Park face the Victoria Vipers.
“Down 4-2 with eight minutes to go the Vipers were on a powerplay with the opportunity to put the game away, but just as the penalty was expiring Conrad Scheuer received a breakaway pass for the ages from captain Cohen Powell and beat the Vipers goalie, Joshua Dubrueil, blocker side to bring the Hogz within one. With 1:25 left in the period and Willard on the bench, extra attacker Joshua Thompson notched the tying goal, sending the Hogz bench into a frenzy,” the team recalled.
“Feeling the momentum, Powell drew an interference penalty 30 seconds into overtime putting the Hogz lethal power play to work. Powell and Scheuer were joined by Evan Walker and Hudson Smith who worked the ball around before Smith had an opportunity to take it to the net off the right boards. Dubrueil made the first save but Walker, going hard to the net, knocked in the rebound for the golden goal to explode the sea of orange fans at the Edmonton South Soccer Centre into bedlam.”
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That 5-4 win marked the Ballhogz’s first ever Western Challenge Cup title.
“The bench never wavered in their belief that we were going to get this done. The Victoria team pushed us, but the guys kept saying to play our game and trust our process. They were ultimately rewarded for keeping that composure and belief. Full credit to Victoria, but when we got the goalie out and tied it up the confidence on the bench was at an all-time high. We started OT quick and were able to draw that penalty. With it being four-on-three, we were able to outnumber them down low and all four guys touched the ball before Evan Walker finished it off,” said co-coach Lee McEwen. “Just an exhilarating finish to a great game and a terrific run for these guys.”
The BallHogz team included goalies Ty Willard, Ryden Soliski and Jake Weinert, forwards Fulton Hoglin, Liam Maynes, Oliver McEwen, Tyler Radmanovich, Conrad Scheuer, Brady Schnepper, Brady Semeniuk, Hudson Smith, Owen Wimmer, defencemen Leo Charest, Ayden Morris-Anderson, Teagan Ottenbreit, Cohen Powell, Joshua Thompson, Evan Walker, Evan Zaichkowsky, coaches Jason Zaichkowsky, Lee McEwen, James Schnepper, and manager Cherie Charest.
lmorey@postmedia.com