The squad was defeated in two straight games by a Rocky Mountain Athletic Association (RMAA) team comprised of players from Crossfield, Didsbury and Carstairs, said coach Tony Myram.
“We ended up getting beat out of playoffs. That’s the way the cookie crumbles,” Myram said, adding the Huskies ended up placing sixth out of eight teams in their tier.
They played Friday, Feb. 21 in Crossfield and again on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Sundre Arena, with the final scores recorded being 4-3 and 8-3 for RMAA, he said.
All things considered, he said the season went fairly well and praised the team’s low penalty minutes. A half point is awarded to a team for each game with fewer than 16 minutes of accumulated penalties.
“We strive to play a clean game,” he said.
“That got us into playoffs. We just didn’t have quite enough firepower.”
The Huskies’ team game, including strategically positioning on the ice, improved throughout the season, and the coach said they were “playing more structured hockey. That would be one of our strongest points.”
Although three players will be moving on next year, the remaining midget team will largely have the same core group, with a few coming up from bantams as well, he said.
“We’ll be a pretty strong team next year, based on who’s coming up and what we’ll have to work with,” he said, expressing enthusiasm for coaching again next season as his two sons will also be on the squad.
“For me, it’ll be pretty exciting having both boys on the same team.”
The coaches for the bantams and midgets espouse the same philosophy and approach to the game, which he said “should make for a seamless transition for the players coming up.”
With another season behind him, Myram said he is grateful for the community’s support, adding that playing in front of fans in a packed arena is always fun.
“Typically, our fan base is fantastic,” he said.
Furthermore, many of the players have jobs, and their employers frequently offered the flexibility needed to accommodate schedules to ensure the kids could make it to practices and games, he said.
“That stuff is certainly appreciated. The community support in Sundre is fantastic — it makes a lot of what we do a lot easier.”