For the first time in three years, Langley Hockey Academy has brought home a championship, with their 17U squad securing a thrilling 2-0 series win over HC Edmonton to capture the Prospects Cup at the Silent Ice Center.
Langley was the last of four LHA clubs to make the championship, but the only one to finish on top, winning the best-of-three series in just two games—both tightly contested.
Game one was a goaltending duel from the drop of the puck. Mathew Gordon opened the scoring for Langley midway through the first period, but HC Edmonton’s Dawson Knackstedt tied things up early in the third. With the game deadlocked at one, the teams went to 3-on-3 overtime. On a power play, Nolan Oxtoby fired the winner from the top of the circles, giving Langley the 1-0 series lead.
Goaltender Logan McAloney was the backbone, stopping 35 of 36 shots in game one.
“I just wanted to battle for the team, and I just wanted to win so bad for these guys,” McAloney said post-series.
Game two saw Edmonton push hard, firing 49 shots at McAloney—but none got past him. The Langley goalie stood tall with a shutout performance, finishing the series with an eye-popping .988 save percentage.
Head Coach Kurt Astle had to rally his team during a tense second-period timeout.
“I blacked out a little bit,” Astle joked. “I just wanted them to start playing the right way, buy into playing for each other.”
The message landed. Just 26 seconds later, Micah Sidhu tipped in a Cashton Smith point shot to break the deadlock. Owen Corscadden followed up with a key interception and goal to make it 2-0 by the end of the second. From there, it was McAloney’s game.
Langley Hockey Academy clinched their first-ever JPHL title, and Astle couldn’t have been prouder.
“It’s amazing, it’s something the boys worked for all year,” he said. “I’m so proud of them—I love these kids. They came together at the right time.”
McAloney was named Finals MVP for Langley, while Dawson Harmer earned the honour for HC Edmonton.
