Team Brick Alberta were the silver-medal winners Sunday afternoon after a one-point loss in overtime to the Connecticut Jr. Rangers at the Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament.
The week-long tournament came to an exciting end as Alberta and the American team tied the score twice throughout the championship match. Finally, in overtime, the Rangers made a game-winning goal with a shot that slid beneath the host goalie’s leg for a final score of 3-2.
But organizers and coaches are saying it’s the experience—not the final standings—that is most valuable to Brick players.
“I would say the American programs have really started developing as a result of the Brick tournament,” said tournament organizer Craig Styles.
“The influence they've had on bringing this to the level that we’re all at has been amazing.”
West Coast Selects Coach Andrew Cohen echoed the same sentiment.
“To learn how to compete, especially against big market programs like Toronto, Alberta and Vancouver, for kids in California—that's the next thing. They have to learn how to play the game like a Canadian hockey player,” Cohen told CTV News Edmonton.
“They come back from this tournament inspired, they want to get better. They just saw some kid who is certainly destined to be an NHL player and they want to be like that kid.”
The inaugural Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament was held in 1990. Since then, dozens of invitees have held professional careers, including Auston Matthews, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle.
With files from Joey Slattery
