Macdonald Swarm claim HTJHL championship with OT victory

The Macdonald Swarm capped off an excellent season in style, claiming the Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League championship after a 5-4 overtime win in game five to defeat the Springfield Xtreme March 27.

Affiliated player Cooper Rodewald, who played the regular season with the Sanford Sabres in the Winnipeg High School Hockey League, was the hero as he net the overtime winner for his second of the game. Rodewald had 40 points across 24 regular season games for the Sabres.

He kept up that pace with the Swarm, chipping in 14 points across the team’s 12-game playoff run.

Austin Spicer was named the league’s playoff most valuable player, scoring 20 points across 12 games to lead the scoring race.

The Swarm were historically dominant this season, dropping just three games all season, two to ninth-place East St Paul and one in the final.

It is the first time in league history the winning team was based outside of The Carillon’s coverage area, as Macdonald is based out of Sanford. The league now features three teams outside of our bounderies, with Warren and East St Paul joining in recent years.

The Swarm became the 10th team in league history to win a championship. The Steinbach Huskies have the most in history, with 10 top finishes, one ahead of Lorette/Ile des Chenes.