‘One last big show’: Trojans facing Kings in Western Regionals Final

As the Thunder Bay Kings are hosting, they already had one of the six spots clinched. When they beat out the Hounds on a total goals for tie-breaker to make it to the Western Regionals Final, their opponent – the Trojans – automatically became the West representative in the national tournament.

Trojans head coach Darrell Mann said he couldn’t watch the Hounds-Kings game unfold with his players.

“I went into the dressing room, sat in our office, and waited for the cheers,” Mann said. “Really rewarding for our kids, they battled all year long – lots of them for two years. Our goal was to get an opportunity to go to the Telus Cup and represent our province. It’s just great to see a vision come together, I’m so proud of all our hockey players.”

Still, there was one more round robin game against the Wheat Kings to play. Mann admitted there were challenges initially to get the Trojans focused, but positive moments to end round robin play showed up throughout the game.

The Trojans’ line of Kalen Ukrainetz, Trenton Curtis, Dawson Schaff combined for 12 points (three goals and nine assists), forward Davis Chorney continued his improved play with a hat trick that got a loud cheer from the Tisdale faithful, and perhaps more importantly for the players: they were able to get their backup goaltender a Regionals win.

Bryson Garton only started in 12 games for the Trojans in 2018-19 as he battled with thumb and collarbone injuries throughout the year. When Mann announced he would be starting the final game of round robin play, the Trojans were amped to help their goalie.

After Garton made 32 saves and his teammates scored him six goals of support, Ukrainetz confirmed they played with extra drive to get their teammate a win after a challenging season.

Tisdale Trojans goaltender Bryson Garton makes one of his 32 saves against the Manitoba Midget Hockey League’s leading scorer Nolan Ritchie (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

“That guy pours his heart out to our team and he’d do anything for any of us,” Ukrainetz said. “All we could do is get him one back. I think it was a great experience for him and it’s awesome that we got the job done for him.”

Before they board the bus to Thunder Bay, the Trojans will play one more game in front of their home fans at the RECplex in the Western Regionals Final against the Kings.

To make things more sentimental, Mann said he realistically expects only about three or four of his players to return to Tisdale next year as many of them look to take the next step up to junior hockey.

“This is their last time playing in front of their home crowd,” Mann said. “We want to put on one last big show for these people and let them send these kids off in the right direction.

“For a local boy like myself, to see all the support these kids have got is absolutely amazing. The fans, the cheering, and everything else, our players are so excited to be playing in front of a group like this.”

The Trojans play their final home game of the season in the Western Regionals Final against the Thunder Kings at the Tisdale RECplex at 2 p.m.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow

by Aaron Schulze

‘One last big show’: Trojans facing Kings in Western Regionals Final

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