B.C. and Halifax are coastal opposites, with a lot of territory in between.
But with their Nova Scotia connection behind the bench, assistant coach Brent Arsenault, the boys from B.C. felt right at home when they stepped out onto the ice for the 2011 Canada Winter Games male hockey final.
They had much of the capacity crowd of 10,595 spectators in the Halifax Metro Centre on their side, and needed all the help they could get when B.C. managed to blow a 4-2 lead in the third period and Quebec tied it with six minutes left.
"When they scored (the third goal) Nic Petan was in the box and he came to the bench and said, 'Sorry guys, I'm going to get it back,' and went right back out and scored to make it a 5-4 game," said Arsenault. "Everyone played their role, that was the key, and everyone played, no one sat on the bench."
Petan netted the go-ahead goal 51 seconds after Quebec forward Simon Desbiens had tied it . Twenty seconds after Petan's goal, Curtis Lazar snapped in his second of the game and he then added an empty-netter a minute later to ice a 7-4 victory.
Arsenault grew up in Antigonish, N.S., a 2 1/2-hour drive from Halifax, and had numerous family members, including his dad, and a long line of friends cheering him on.
"It was an unreal experience, for sure -- we came out for the warmup and there was already 4,000 people there and it was loud," said Arsenault. "The fans were into the game. (Quebec) scored on the first shot 50 seconds in, a lucky shot that whistled glove and rolled in and Bertolucci tied it a minute later. We had resolve the whole tournament and came back. We never laid down."
The Team B.C. lineup read like a who's-who list of today's junior-aged hockey stars of the WHL and NHL. Up front there was Lazar, Petan, Sam Reinhart, Matt Needham, Luke Bertolucci, Jackson Houck, Cole Sanford and Brett Harris, (who played for the Cariboo Cougars major midget team). On defence were Prince George minor hockey product Josh Connolly (a former Cariboo Cougar now with the WHL Cougars), Shea Theodore, Macoy Erkamps and Kyle Burroughs. The goalies were Tristan Jarry (who played in the final) and Jackson Whistle.
Lazar, who now plays for the Ottawa Senators, topped the tournament in scoring with 12 goals and 17 points in six games, breaking the Canada Games records for goals set by Steven Stamkos and points, held by Sidney Crosby. Even with a stacked team, B.C. wasn't one of the favorites going into the tournament. Ontario, Quebec and Alberta were the teams to beat.
"We had high expectations going in, we had a good combination of speed, skill and grit, and we had solid goaltending but we didn't run the table at all," said Arsenault.
B.C. was in Group A with Ontario (which had pro prospects Max Domi, Darnell Nurse, Nick Ritchie and Bo Horvat), Quebec (Sam Morin, Anthony Duclair, Fredrick Gauthier and Jonathan Drouin) and Nova Scotia (Nate MacKinnon).
B.C. started out with a nationally-televised 5-4 shootout loss to Quebec, then beat Nova Scotia 8-3 and lost to Ontario 5-1. They went on to defeat Manitoba 4-2 in the quarterfinals and scored a 5-2 win over Ontario to advance to the final.
"I still remember (TSN commentator) Craig Button saying we might see both these teams in the final and we both made it through a long road and played again," said Arsenault.
"It's a great experience for these guys and that event certainly prepares them for an event like the world juniors, where they play every day and it's tough and there's travel."
Arsenault, 46, has lived in Prince George since 1992, having moved to the city to take a teaching job at St. Mary's Catholic elementary school, where he's now principal. He earned his spot on the B.C. team staff having served as an assistant coach with the Prince George Spruce Kings (1992-94) and as coach and general manager of the Spruce Kings in the BCHL in 2000-2001. He also had a stint as head coach the Prince George midget triple-A team. He's now in his 10th season as an assistant with the WHL Cougars.
Competition in the 2015 Canada Winter Games starts Sunday and Arsenault, whose students are off school for the 17 days of the Games, is looking forward to being a spectator.
"I think it's going to be great for Prince George and it's going to be exciting," said Arsenault. "There are so many events and some events people aren't really used to watching, like biathlon and slopestyle skiing. From everything I've been told, it's treated just like an Olympics but there are even more athletes at the Canada Winter Games."
Russ Weber of Richmond was the head coach for B.C. and Kevin MacKay of Kelowna was the other assistant. The team took part in several Team B.C. activities at the start of the Games and had wanted to watch other sporting events. But with practices in Halifax and nearby Dartmouth and their everyday game schedule, there wasn't enough time. Unlike the Prince George Canada Games, which end with the male hockey final on March 1, make hockey was in the first week of the 2011 Games in 2011, which meant the team was able to participate in the opening ceremonies.
"The opening ceremonies were incredible, we didn't know what to expect and it was amazing," said Arsenault. "There was lots of pride there when you have your flag and the Team B.C scarves. I took a lot of pride in representing B.C. I was born (in Nova Scotia) but I've lived here longer than I've lived back there and I was pretty proud to be a B.C. person."
