Last weekend, two things officially marked the end of the winter season: the Prince George Spruce Kings held their spring prospects camp, and the last sliver of snow begrudgingly melted out of my front yard.
On the local sporting front, the winter of 2014-15 was the most successful in years. From hockey to basketball to the Canada Winter Games, P.G. teams and athletes gave city residents plenty of reasons to cheer.
In junior hockey, the BCHL's Spruce Kings and WHL's Cougars both made the playoffs - a rare double indeed. At the midget level, the Cariboo Cougars skated to the title at the world-famous Mac's tournament in Calgary and followed up with a regular-season championship in league play. Just as significant was the accomplishment of the Northland Dodge Northern Female Cougars, who claimed regular-season and playoff championships in their league and ended up two wins shy of the Esso Cup nationals.
Some quick thoughts.
For starters, the Spruce Kings had no business being as good as they were, not with the constant string of injuries they endured. All season long, and even into playoffs, they never did have their full lineup. At times, they were literally down to half a team. But, instead of throwing their hands up in surrender, the players and coaches set their chins to the wind and found ways to win games. The result was a 27-24-1-6 record during the season and a first-round playoff victory against the Langley Rivermen. That win was the organization's first series victory in 10 years. Overall, head coach Dave Dupas - who resigned on March 20 so he could resume a normal family life in Kelowna - deserves a ton of the credit for adjusting the Kings' style of play when necessary and keeping his depleted troops motivated.
Kudos to the Cougars and their new ownership group as well. The first year of what was dubbed The New Ice Age brought progress in all areas. On the hockey front, the local WHL club got back into the playoffs for the first time in four years and then gave the favoured Victoria Royals a tough test in a five-game series. On the business side, the Cougars rekindled fan interest and repaired a lot of relationships in the corporate community. For that, team president Greg Pocock and vice president of business Andy Beesley - who conducted themselves in anti-Brodsky fashion in every way possible - get a tip of the hat.
As for the Cariboo Cougars, they were back to their powerhouse ways after a rebuilding season in 2013-14. The 15- to 17-year-old Cats became the first Prince George-based team to ever win the Mac's tournament and rolled to a 29-8-3 regular-season record. In the playoffs, they advanced to the final but were upset by the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs. Ultimately, the Cougars were undone by a lack of discipline and that tough lesson needs to stick in the minds of the players who return next season. But, this year's group did put itself in the local history books and everyone associated with the club can be rightfully proud of that fact.
And how about the Northland Dodge Northern Female Cougars? After years of being a provincial doormat, they were strong for the second season in a row and won their first-ever league and playoff crowns. Only a series loss to the Alberta-champion Edmonton Thunder kept them from making it to the Esso Cup.
The turnaround in the Northern Cougars program has a lot to do with the current crop of players but is also the product of some off-ice changes. Perhaps the most significant is that all the players on this northern regional squad now live in Prince George with billet families during the season and, for the most part, attend PGSS where they are part of teacher Renzo Berra's hockey academy. Extra ice time, and more time together in general, has made a huge difference.
Meanwhile, on the basketball court, the UNBC men's team qualified for playoffs for the first time since moving up to the Canada West Universities Athletic Association in 2012-13. The Timberwolves ended the season with a 12-8 record in the Explorer Division, good for second place and a playoff match-up with the UBC Thunderbirds, who were third in the Pioneer Division with a mark of 14-6. In a best-of-three series, the T-wolves fell by scores of 83-77 and 88-78. But, especially in the first game, they gave their heavily-favoured opponent some anxious moments.
For UNBC's excellent year, Todd Jordan deserves praise. Jordan is the team's head coach and its only recruiter so not only did he guide the club's on-court efforts, he assembled the lineup of players. Jordan was able to bring six-foot-seven forward Franco Kouagnia of Cameroon to the program a couple years ago, a time when he also picked up six-foot-five forward Devin McMurtry and six-foot guard Jeff Chu, both of whom were coming off championship seasons with the Langara College Falcons. Kouagnia, McMurtry and Chu were all massive contributors to UNBC the past two years and that was especially true in 2014-15.
Then there was six-foot-two guard Rhys Elliott of Australia, nabbed by Jordan last off-season. Elliott proved to be a Canada West standout and was superb in the two playoff games against the Thunderbirds. And here's the good news - he still has two years of eligibility left to burn.
For next season, Jordan will have to fill the holes left by Kouagnia, McMurtry and Chu but will have a fairly strong core returning.
And no discussion about the winter of 2014-15 would be complete without a mention of the Canada Games.
For two weeks in February, the Games brought a youthful buzz to the city that was undeniably contagious. Hosting Canada's version of the Winter Olympics was a high point in the city's history. Even though there were some organizational glitches, the Games sparkled like the northern lights. For that, thumbs up to the volunteers, many of whom went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure needs were met.
In the grand scheme of things, the positive spin-off from the Games will last indefinitely into the future. In fact, there are already rumblings of a national championship tournament coming to Prince George next year.
Stay tuned on that one.
