Humboldt Broncos' head coach Scott Barney, alongside Broncos' player Matthew Van Blaricom, Nipawin Hawks' player Ronan Buckberger, and Flin Flon Bombers' trainer Jason Savill as they accept their gold medals (photo credit: Erica Perreaux/Hockey Canada Images)

By Ben Tompkins

World Junior A Hockey Challenge

Two Broncos, one Hawk return home golden with Team Canada West

Dec 19, 2023 | 4:38 PM

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League now has four new members in its gold medalist history.

Humboldt Broncos head coach Scott Barney and forward Matthew Van Blaricom, along with Nipawin Hawks defenceman Ronan Buckberger and Flin Flon Bombers athletic therapist and equipment manager, Jason Savill, are world champions.

All four were a part of Team Canada West in this year’s World Junior A Hockey Challenge in Truro, Nova Scotia, which wrapped up this past weekend.

“It’s pretty surreal. A year ago today I wouldn’t have thought I’d be where I am with a gold medal, wearing the maple leaf on my sweater,” explained Buckberger. “It’s an amazing accomplishment and I couldn’t have done it without all my teammates, it was a full team effort and it’s just awesome to be with a great group of guys.”

Team Canada West took down Team Canada East 7-2 (the most goals scored by one team in the gold medal game since 2008), in the tournament’s final game on Sunday, to claim their sixth gold medal, and first since 2017.

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Canada West also had to defeat the tournament favourites, the previously undefeated United States, during their semi-final game (4-3 in overtime) on Saturday, to even get to the gold medal match.

“It was definitely nice to beat the States. We had a good fan base there, so it was definitely a cool experience and fun to play that type of rival… I remember growing up and watching that Canada, US rivalry, so to be a part of that was pretty awesome,” Van Blaricom told northeastNOW.

“Also, to play against the East and guys who are representing the same country as you, it’s definitely hard to look at it as if you’re not the fan favourite. Either way, you’re going to have fun there, so that’s the way I looked at it, I knew it was gonna be a great experience to play in front of that many people and being on TV was pretty cool too.”

Despite a lackluster preliminary round for Canada West, who only won a single game and barely snuck into the playoffs, they picked it up and performed when it mattered.

According to Barney, it took a little while for the chemistry to develop, and once everyone bought it, there was no turning back.

“This win truly shows the character of this team,” he said. “We had a tough start to this tournament, but we had some deep heart-to-heart conversations with the players and staff and we got everyone pulling on the same rope. Guys bought into the right way to play and this is a great feeling.”

Clearly, Van Blaricom and Buckberger bought into what Barney was preaching, as the two netted a pair each in the gold medal match.

Van Blaricom mentioned that familiarity with his head coach really helped him down the stretch.

“It helped me play a little more loose because I knew what he expected of me, and winning that gold with him felt really good because it also showed everyone how good of a coach he is and provided evidence for the type of program he runs,” added Van Blaricom.

“It was definitely nice to be able to represent the SJHL, and coming back with the gold medal shows that the league is still producing and that there are more and better players coming out every year.”

All will now return to their respective SJHL clubs, once the Christmas break is over, with an increased level of experience and sense of winning culture.

They are hopeful that this can be transferred to their organizations and help them in the push for a 2024 title.

“Try to bring back a little bit of the winning culture and try to help the boys step up,” Buckberger concluded. “We need a big second half to try and get as high as a seed we can before the playoffs, so just try and push forward and win as many hockey games as we can in 2024 for the team to have success for the year.”

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8