In 2024-25, expectations for the U15A Whistler Winterhawks were very much in flux. After the demise of the Sea to Sky Bears program, the Whistler Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) chose to enter a team into the rep league and go without a house squad. Rookie head coach Matthew Létourneau found himself commanding a small roster of 12 skaters and two goalies.
Now, that group reigns as B.C. Tier 4 Champions after besting Langley 5-4 in the provincial final late last month.
Assistant coach Andrew Haig described the pivotal game as "destiny in the making."
The Langley Eagles had disposed of a shorthanded Whistler unit in the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association (PCAHA) playoff banner game before provincials. Again they got off to a fast start, building a 2-0 lead before Ty Miller got the Winterhawks on the board late in the opening frame.
Létourneau's first-intermission speech clearly paid dividends. Miller found twine again in the next period, as did alternate captain Ashur Livingston and captain Laine Kaufmann. Yet the Eagles struck back, and Whistler held a 4-3 edge through two stanzas of play.
Whistler netminder Connor Haig stood on his head for much of the third period, but a desperate Langley unit pulled its own goalie and drove home a late equalizer with six attackers on the ice. Overtime seemed like a foregone conclusion… until it wasn't.
Livingston won a faceoff of paramount importance and burst into the offensive zone. He made a crisp pass, and Miller roofed his hat-trick goal with 23 seconds left. One last Eagles push fell short, and the Winterhawks ascended to provincial glory.
'Season-long dedication'
Whistler began its campaign in PCAHA Flight Six, but a 6-1-1 placement record had them bumped up quickly to Flight Four. Things became more difficult from there, as injuries afflicted several players and the bench was further shortened by untimely waves of illness.
Deploying only eight skaters at times, the Winterhawks gritted through to a 13-8-1 regular season record and a PCAHA banner.
In spite of falling in the league playoffs to Langley, Whistler qualified for Provincials in second place. The team journeyed some 1,400 kilometres north to Kitimat, home of the previous back-to-back champs, and opened their tournament with a 9-2 drubbing of Vanderhoof followed by an 8-2 rout of Oceanside.
"We were labelled 'the team to beat' by a local restaurateur," Andrew said.
However, the Winterhawks floundered against a physically imposing Dawson Creek squad in a 5-2 loss. Kitimat next awaited in the provincial semifinal, where the margin of error would be zero.
In a battle between two organizations to bear the Winterhawk name, Whistler prevailed over Kitimat 5-2 thanks to a robust, 30-save performance by Connor and an insurance empty-netter by U13 call-up Max Darlow.
"Hockey cannot happen without an army of volunteer support. Special thanks to the families who made this happen," said Andrew. "Extra mention to the two U13-affiliated players, Max Darlow and Reece Gemmill, for joining the team on its journey, Julius Dallago for keeping the boys on the ice, team manager Lee-Anne Kaufmann's thankless hours behind the scenes.
"The logistics and planning to pull it all off were impeccable. Head coach Matt Létourneau [displayed] season-long dedication with the rest of the coaching staff."
