HC Edmonton used the motto of ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again’ to get past a pesky Langley HA squad and lift the JPHL championship trophy. In the first two games of the series, Langley goaltender Gavin Craig turned away 116 of the 122 shots Edmonton fired at him for a .950 save percentage. Edmonton Head Coach Scott Glennie was certainly concerned with the goaltender - who won’t turn 13 until September - stealing game three and the championship from HCE, even going as far as comparing Craig’s performance to J.S. Giguere in 2003 when he won the NHL’s Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in losing to the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final.
Two things went in HC Edmonton’s favor in game three on Sunday. Craig was human as he ‘only’ made 37 saves, and HC Edmonton scored the first goal for the first time in the series when Chase Fedoriuk tipped in a point shot to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Langley wouldn’t wilt however, and some back-and-forth play had the game tied at two heading into the final third period of the season.
HC Edmonton came out flying to start the third period, led by captain Hudson Deren’s goal 13 seconds in, followed by Ryan Quintillio giving them a 2-goal lead less than 2 minutes into the third. They would not look back, adding two more including an empty-net goal for a convincing 6-2 victory and their first JPHL championship at the U14 level.
