After going undefeated in the regular season and winning the Central Alberta Hockey League’s peewee Tier 1 title, the Cochrane Rockies ran into some stiff competition at provincials.
The Rockies made it to the semifinal round of the Hockey Alberta peewee AA minor provincial tourney in Springbank before being ousted 10-1 by Lethbridge Hurricanes on March 23.
“We’ve had to adjust,” Rockies head coach Steve Drennan said of the pace at the provincial tournament. “The speed here is quicker. The timing is faster. So, starting with Game 1, we had to adjust our game. The kids really stepped up. They did a good job of bringing their level of play up to the standard that’s here at this tournament. It’s a double-A tournament, so it’s good hockey.”
Hosted by Calgary’s Trails West Wolves club, the peewee tournament for 11- 12-year-old players was a blend of “A” and “AA” peewee teams vying for Hockey Alberta’s minor AA provincial title.
Cochrane finished with a 3-2 record at the tourney, defeating Trails West 6-3, Fort Saskatchewan 7-0 and Edmonton’s North Seera Swarm 6-0. The Rockies lost the opener 3-2 to Grande Prairie.
“Couldn’t be prouder of the kids, they’ve really stepped up their game,” Drennan said. “There’s a whole formula for the teams getting into the tournaments. We get placed where we get placed. We don’t have a choice in the matter.
“We just go with whatever we get placed in. We come and we battle.”
Lethbridge won the championship with a 4-0 win over Stony Plain in the final.
