With a 2-1 overtime win over BWC Academy (Burnaby, BC) on Sunday night, South Alberta Hockey Academy (Dunmore, AB) won the inaugural East West Challenge.
The event saw seven teams from the East take on seven teams from the West in a U18 Prep matchup just outside Montreal in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan, QC.
SAHA punched their ticket to the finals with a 5-3 win over Okanagan Hockey Academy (Penticton, BC) in the semi-finals after going 3-0 against East teams in the round robin.
BWC Academy had a similar path to the finals, going 3-0 in the round robin before beating Edge School (Calgary, AB) 7-4 in their semi-final matchup.
It was both teams’ second game of the day and fifth in four days and the first period reflected that as SAHA and BWC Academy combine for just 11 shots.
The action would pick up in the second, mostly in the SAHA d-zone, which resulted in Charlie Robinson collecting in his feet, making a quick move to kick it to his stick, and firing it past a sliding Cash Christie (22/23).
That lead would hold until early in the third when Ryker Klassen beat James Fitzpatrick (22/24) with a deceptive shot that went five-hole.
Neither team was able to generate anything further in the remaining minutes of regulation, sending the game to overtime. In OT, Kingston Chisholm would go end-to-end and wire home the game winner, sending the home team into a frenzy as they captured the first ever CSSHL East West Challenge Championship.
