Liam Blackburn was ready to be crowned a B.C. Hockey League champion but was not prepared when it came his turn to hoist the Fred Page Cup over his shoulders.
In front of a sellout crowd of elated home supporters cheering the West Kelowna Warriors' 4-2 win in Game 6 over the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday, Blackburn narrowly averted disaster in the post-game celebration.
"The cup is big and it's quite heavy actually - when I first lifted it when we won I almost dropped it," laughed Blackburn, a 19-year old centre from Prince George.
"It was a lot of fun and definitely really neat having a cup and celebrating with people you've spent the last three years with."
Fresh and well-rested after winning the franchise's first BCHL championship, the Warriors will get back into game mode tonight in Estevan, Sask., where they take on the host Estevan Bruins on opening day at the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup.
"There's quite a big buzz around here right now, a lot of people know it's coming for sure and there's lots of signs up everywhere and everyone's ready for it to begin," said Blackburn. "Having the home team for our first game, that will probably be a big crowd and a loud crowd I think."
The five-team tournament features the champions of junior A leagues in B.C., Alberta (Brooks Bandits), Saskatchewan (Melfort Mustangs) and Manitoba (Portage Terriers), as well as the host Bruins.
"Every team here has to move on and start from scratch again and start a new competition up," said Blackburn. "I think we stack up pretty good. From what it sounds like, the other teams are older and bigger, all built pretty much the same way we are. I think they'll all be pretty good games and we stand a pretty good chance. We want to be playing hockey come the end of May here."
The two Western Canada Cup finalists advance to the RBC Cup national championship tournament in Lloydminster, Sask., May 14-22.
The Warriors expect to have goalie Matthew Greenfield back in the lineup after he went down with an upper-body injury in Game 5 of the BCHL final. Right winger Quinn Foreman, who plays on Blackburn's line, is still sidelined with an undetermined injury.
That means Jake LeBrun will once again take his place. LeBrun, a 20-year-old native of Prince George who was captain of the Spruce Kings when he was sent to the Warriors at the trade deadline, has been getting more icetime lately playing with Blackburn on the second line and is also drawing power-play duty.
Blackburn has signed a full-ride scholarship deal to play next season at the University of New Hampshire and he knows there's a lot of hockey players who would gladly trade places with him right now.
"It's amazing - lots of people finished their junior career months ago, so to have this chance to keep playing in my final year is something special, for sure," said Blackburn.
