KINGSTON, N.S. — For Grade 12 players on the West Kings Wolverines who will be moving on, winning a silver medal is a great way to cap off their high school hockey careers.
The host West Kings Wolverines won silver in the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation 2018-2019 Division 2 hockey championships on March 10, dropping the final game of the three-day tournament to the Cole Harbour Cavaliers by a score of 3 – 0.
The silver-medal win was the final game in the high school hockey journeys of four Grade 12 players: Owen St. Nicolaas, team captain, Cole Peters, assistant captain, Dexter Newell and Carson Hape.
St. Nicolaas said that although it is a little disappointing not winning gold, it was “really awesome” getting to play in front of the home town crowd one last time and to win silver in the process. He is very happy with the outcome.
“We wouldn’t have even been here if we weren’t hosting and to make it to the finals, it was even better,” he said.
St. Nicolaas said he would miss being around his Wolverine teammates. Whether they were winning or losing, he always had a good time playing hockey with his friends and hanging out with them in the dressing rooms and hotels.
Peters said although winning the banner would have been great, winning a silver medal in his final high school game means a lot – and it’s “pretty surreal.” All the fans came out and they had a packed rink for every game.
“It was good that they supported us and the boys pulled through this weekend, it was pretty great,” Peters said.
When it comes to moving on from high school hockey, he said he would miss the school spirit. Playing for a minor hockey organization is fun but it isn’t the same as playing for your school.
Peters said Cole Harbour is a tough team that is good defensively and they were class acts, playing a clean championship game.
West Kings Wolverines head coach Clarke Oliver said the outcome couldn’t have been much better if it had been scripted. The team had set the goal of winning provincials but struggled and had a rough year.
However, his players’ performance throughout the weekend “far outdid” his expectations and winning silver is a great way to end the season.
“We gelled together this weekend, we actually peaked this weekend,” Oliver said. “In my wildest dreams, I didn’t see this situation come together.”
He said it was a great honour to be picked to host the provincial championships and the Wolverines are proud to have the area showcased. There was a lot of class and sportsmanship displayed by the eight competing teams and there was a feeling of camaraderie surrounding the event.
He said the fan support was great, with the Credit Union Centre in Kingston filled all weekend.
“I’ve never seen so many people in this building and I’ve been here for 10 years, it’s amazing,” Oliver said.
Having coached some of the players since they were 10 years old, he said it was also an emotional weekend for him.
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