Steinbach Huskies celebrate historic 10th HTJHL title

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This article was published 26/03/2024 (418 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The 2024 Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League (HTJHL) finals ended the exact same way the 2023 finals did — with the Steinbach Huskies celebrating a sweep inside their opponent’s home rink.

The Huskies defeated the Springfield Xtreme 6-3 in game four of the series March 15, clinching back-to-back HTJHL championships, and a perfect 11-0 record in the post-season.

The clinching victory didn’t come easy for Steinbach, as the Xtreme put together their best performance of the entire series in the opening 30 minutes of game four.

“Kudos to them,” Huskies captain Brandon Thiessen said after the game.

“They came out and worked as hard as they could and did everything they could… They play a really good shut down game, but we’re a great team ourselves… There’s only so much you can (do to) hold off our offense.”

Springfield battled for a 3-0 lead, as Chase Janas knocked home a perfect pass from Evan Jasper on a 2-on-1 mid-way through the second period.

It took just 50 seconds for Steinbach to turn the tide, with Ethan Plett whacking home his own rebound after his initial rush chance was stopped.

From there, it was the Ian Friesen show. The forward struck twice in the final five minutes of the second period to erase Springfield’s lead. First he hammered home a one-timer from beside the net, even as it looked like Xtreme goalie Dylan Kizlik had completely cut off his angle.

Just a couple minutes later, he was celebrating again, this time after an extended zone shift from the Huskies. Sensing a crack in the armour after a minute of zone time, Friesen circled back to the point before letting loose a seeing-eye wrister that beat Kizlik clean.

“We knew we could do it, we’ve done it before,” Friesen said on the comeback.

“We kept high. One goal at a time, one shift at a time, one battle at a time. That’s how we ran it today, that’s how we’ve been running it all year. We didn’t lose any faith.”

Steinbach took the lead for good three minutes into the third period, as Rylan Penner turned a powerplay rush chance into a goal. Thiessen praised Penner for getting the 4-3 goal, noting the message during intermission was all about the importance of the next goal.

“This was do or die for them, so we knew we had to come out flying in the third,” Penner said.

“I saw the opportunity, and it paid off. I entered the zone just to settle things down on the powerplay. I saw the goalie drop down, saw the opening upstairs, and took it… I was just hoping I didn’t miss the net.”

The playoff most valuable player award went to Brandon Palmer, Steinbach’s starting goaltender. Palmer started nine of the Huskies’ games this post season, posting a perfect record and a 0.938 save percentage.

Even with those gaudy stats, Palmer said he didn’t expect his name to be called when the trophy was awarded.

“There’s a lot of guys this could have gone to, Rylan Penner played amazing, Ethan Unger scoring big goals every game,” Palmer said, MVP trophy in hand.

“It’s pretty great though, it feels amazing.”

Steinbach put together a dominant offensive post-season, outscoring their opponents 85-18, meaning Palmer’s job most nights wasn’t too hard. His toughest test may have come in game four, as Springfield came out firing early, looking to extend the series. At one point the Xtreme were leading on the shot clock 6-1.

Palmer looked in control, doing a great job of controlling rebounds and slowing play down.

“They kept it pretty clear for me, I could see every shot pretty easily,” Palmer said.

“Even their goal, I saw it at the last second. My defense did a good job at clearing the net, making the saves easy for me when I actually do have to make them.”

With the similarities between seasons, Thiessen pointed out a key difference in this Huskies squad compared to last year’s edition. That team only lost three times throughout the entire year, while the 2024 championship team faced adversity to start the season.

“Going down 3-0, it doesn’t rattle us like some teams, we play through a lot,” he said.

“We came in winning a championship and going on a long win streak. It’s sometimes good to lose a game, and just remember you can lose. It’s hockey, it’s a a game.”

The back-to-back banners are a special moment for a team that has grown close over the past few years.

“They’re not just my teammates, they’re my friends, they’re my family,” Penner said.

“It feels great to win a championship with them.”