The 2018 Canadian Midget National Championship came to end Saturday afternoon, and for the second straight year it was Team Alberta defeating Team Ontario 7-2 laying claim to the title of best Midget Team in the country. The championship comes on the heels of last year’s historic victory which saw an Alberta team hoist the Tackaberry Trophy for the very first time.
Alberta finished the round robin with a 5-1 record and played a 4-2 British Columbia team in the semi-finals. Alberta won 8-4 earning the right to play Ontario for the championship. In the final game, Alberta jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead. Ontario got on the board midway through the second with a goal by their Captain Edward Qu. Alberta answered with the next two goals including a marker from Nikolas Amiot with only a second left in the period. Ontario would score once more in the third before Alberta cemented the victory with the final three goals of the game.
Backstopped by goalies Trace Stewart and Caden Rotter, Alberta’s physical defence led all teams with a tournament low 24-goals against. Up front, Alberta featured the top three scorers: Kean Moon (11G/ 13A), Callin Harris (7G/14A) and tied for third, Max McKernan (9G/ 8A).
Ontario earned their way to the championship game with a perfect 6-0 record through the round robin including a 6-3 victory over Alberta. Joshua Rosa (6G/11A), Edward Qu (10G/6A) and Chris Dong (6G/10A) led the way offensively, while goalies Will Johnson and Calum Leaver-Preyra sported 3.50 and 3.67 GAA respectively.
Final Standings
Team GP W L PTS GF GA
Alberta 8 7 1 14 61 24
Ontario 7 6 1 12 65 27
BC 8 5 3 10 66 31
First Nations 7 3 4 6 39 37
Nova Scotia 7 3 4 6 24 55
Saskatchewan 8 2 6 4 31 61
Manitoba 7 0 7 0 26 77
