Spring Hockey Debuts at Hamber

Photo Credit: Jason Bui

Hamber’s spring hockey team has just finished its first-ever season in the BC High School Hockey League. The team capped off their run by reaching the semi-finals in Vancouver’s City Championships, and coaches and players say the team’s future looks promising.

The team was in a co-ed league, which meant it was open for anyone in grades 10–12 to join. Hamber’s team was in a pool with three other teams, and each team played each other once in a round-robin format. In total, there were 24 teams in the league, including teams from Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, and Williams Lake.

It was a slow start to the season for the team; they lost their first three games in their pool, including a 6-2 loss to Windermere. However, later on in the season, Hamber won against  Windermere in a shootout during the quarterfinals, which allowed the Griffins to play in the semi-finals.

Head coach Mr. J. Overgaard (PHE) noted that the team struggled at first with point production, but they were eventually able to come together. 

“We initially had a hard time scoring goals,” said Mr. Overgaard. “But once we started getting a bit of a team game going, our leading point-getter was Matteo Liberatore (11). Nick Harris (11) was also a big offensive driver [and he] scored some really big goals. And Keenan Mak (10) was also a dynamic player for us throughout.”

Looking at the formation of the team, “it's been a long time coming,” Mr. Overgaard shared. “We have tried in years past to start one up. Hockey is a sport that traditionally hasn't been in our school [...]  We went through and decided this was the [...] make-or-break year.”

Typically, Hamber only has a Girls Ice Hockey team that plays in the winter season in the Vancouver Secondary School Athletics Association league, but boys haven’t had the opportunity to play. “Our athletics association never had a boys league. This league is run through BC Hockey, so it's separate from BC School sports,” explained Mr. Overgaard. “It runs in the springtime so as not to conflict with student athletes' regular hockey schedules.”

Ice availability for practices, however, was a challenge that the team faced. “Practices were wherever we could get ice,” said Mr Overgaard. “[They were] often on Tuesdays, but we were at the mercy of when the ice was available and booked for us by BC Hockey.”

Players on the team had a blast during its inaugural season. “Being able to represent the Hamber Griffins on a different stage was something I’ve never done before. I was honoured and had a terrific time doing it [...] wear[ing] that EH on the chest, I'm happy I represented that,” said Harris.

Harris scored the winning goal in the shootout in the quarterfinals against Windermere.

“I came in, [made a] nice slow move on the left side, saw the five hole right open, and gave [the goalie] a little backhand forehand, tucked that in five hole, celebrated with all the buddies in the stands,” Harris shared.

Other players, such as Liberatore and Jenna Chiu (10), also enjoyed playing on the team. “I’ve played hockey for my whole life, and any opportunity to play more I would take it [...] I thought it would be a fun experience playing with all the friends from school,” said Liberatore. “It's an honour to represent your school at anything, but it being the first season of [spring] hockey ever for this school, it was [really] an honour.”

“It was great, especially with it being the first time having a school team like this, it was good to be a part of it,” shared Chiu. She was also proud of how the team was able to come together so quickly in the first season. “The progress we made throughout the season, starting off as a brand new team, we didn't really know what to expect, so having the success to come together as a team was pretty good.”

When it came to deciding to join the team, players said it was a very easy decision for them to make. “Im pretty yuck at puck [...] but hockey, it's just what I do, playing puck with the team. It's just what [I’ve done] ever since I was young,” said Harris.

“I wanted to participate in another team for the school, and my friend and I decided it would be good competition [for us],” added Chiu.

Mr. Overgaard was also very pleased with the on-ice performance and flow of the season. “I’m proud of the players for their commitment [...] the majority of the group chose to stick with it and make sure they were coming to practices and coming to games [...] [I’m] proud also of the players and how they stuck with it after a couple early losses.”

When asked about the future of spring hockey at Hamber, Mr. Overgaard showed heavy optimism. “We're going to keep growing. I’ve already got plans for next year [...] I suspect next year there's going to be an even larger number of players [...] and we're going to have to have some tryouts and get on that.”

“I’ve been playing hockey for more than 45 years,” he added. “So, it's fun for me to share my love for hockey with the kids at school and [it’s] a way for me to coach my true sport. [...] Looking forward to continue growing it.”