Timberwolves ready

With just two losses in 30 regular-season games, the Peewee AA Bow Valley Timberwolves look like top contenders heading into the South Central Alberta Hockey League playoffs.

Their league-leading 26-2-2 record aside, some other numbers jump out as clear indications of just how dominant the T-wolves have been this season.

Bow Valley outscored their opposition 221-97. They went 23 games without losing, a streak extending from mid-October to late February. And finally, three of top four spots in league scoring belong to Timberwolves forwards, including league leader Ryan Barrow, 13, who recorded 96 points — 46 goals, 56 assists — in 30 games.

“I have had a good linemates and I have just had some luck and the coaches have been good,” said a modest Barrow after a recent team practice. “Our forwards are good, we seem to score a lot and when we need to we can buckle down defensively and stop (opponents) from scoring.”

Bow Valley Timberwolves goalie Ryan Ternes denies a teammate during a drill Feb. 25 in preparation for the Peewee AA South Central Alberta Hockey League playoffs. Photo by Jeremy Nolais.

Not willing to let the Barrow and the other Bow Valley boys have all the fun, Cochrane’s Channia Alexander, 13, the team’s lone female player, has proven to be a staple on the Timberwolves blueline this season.

“We’re training hard and every game we have played we have gotten better,” Alexander said of the Timberwolves’ success.

Bow Valley head coach John Harrison said this year’s squad is a special one.

“We’re just happy. We have good talent and that just shows what Cochrane Minor Hockey and the zone is producing,” Harrison said. “The kids work hard in practice, they pass well, they listen. It’s just been a great year.”

Harrison added that the Timberwolves still have plenty of work to do this season. After earning a first-round bye, Bow Valley will now face the Foothills Bisons in the North Conference semifinals the weekend of March 5. An official schedule for the series was not available at press time.

As well, the Timberwolves have already qualified for the Peewee AA Major Alberta Provincial Championships March 25-28 in Stony Plain. Assistant coach Paris Dube noted that the Timberwolves are currently ranked fifth in the province by Hockey Now and thus should be competitive at the big competition.

“There’s a city team ranked above us and we played them in exhibition and spanked them,” Dube said. “So, provincials will tell the tale.”

In the SCAHL Bantam AA ranks, the Bow Valley Timberwolves have advanced to the North Conference semifinals after upsetting the Okotoks Oilers two games to none. The Bantam Timberwolves will now take on the Wheatland Warriors.

No related stories.

• Filed under Sports | Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.