It was an amazing season for the Killarney Shamrocks of the Tiger Hills Hockey League, who after winning the league championship, battled the SEMHL champion Ste. Anne Aces in a series that won't soon be forgotten.
While the results at the end were not what they were looking for, there's nothing but great memories and smiles for the Shamrocks.
"You know, I'm really proud of the team this year," goaltender Brian Archibald said. "We had a really great group of guys and it was so much fun playing with them. I think if you asked anyone on the team, they would say the same things. Any time you can win a league championship, it's a lot of fun. It makes it a lot more fun playing with guys you grew up with. It was a great year, real proud of the effort and how most of it worked out."
It's not an easy thing to go into early April playing hockey at any level and Archibald commends his team for their mental and physical toughness. "I think it says a lot about the team, for sure. Playing in April is always fun. Going to the rink when things are melting and spring is coming, it's a lot of fun. You don't always get those opportunities, so I give a lot of credit to the guys for staying focused and staying with it for the entire season. It's a long year when you start in October and finish in April, and when you get to this time, it's the games you want to be playing, so credit to the team for getting it done."
It was a packed barn in Killarney and the star goaltender made sure to soak in the moment and what it meant to the community. "I did a little bit, yeah," Archibald says with a grin. "You know, any time you have a bunch of people in the stands for warm ups, you know it's going to be a great night. It's awesome for Killarney, we had lots of people come to games, even some that have maybe never been to a senior game before. Hopefully they come back and watch more games in the future. Any time you get to see a new team like Ste. Anne, it's awesome. You see some names on the other side and that's exciting. Unfortunately, we didn't get the results we wanted but still, it was a pretty amazing ride."
When thinking about the growth of senior hockey and the THHL, Archibald is optimistic. "When it comes to senior hockey, every town has their ups and downs. Fortunately in Killarney, we've had a very good run the last number of years and hopefully we can keep that going. There has been struggles with people moving or leaving town, it's common, every community has it, but being able to keep things going until the next wave of guys come home to play is really important. When it comes to our league, they've done a really good job making sure every team can keep going because once you lose it, it's really hard to get it back. Looking ahead, hopefully we can keep as many teams as we had this year. It's exciting hockey, it's a lot of fun and it's something to look forward to on a weekend."
Senior hockey is different than junior where there are no graduating players, the rosters can stay the same but Archibald jokes that it's too early to tell if everyone will be back to defend their title. "I say this every year, I say it's a long time until October," he says laughing. "I think if you ask a lot of people on the last day of the year if they're playing next year, they'd probably say their not sure. By the time the new season rolls around, they get excited and want to play again. For myself and a lot of our guys, I think we're all in a similar boat, we want to see the team continue on the path we're on. Regardless of who's back or who isn't back, this was a really special year and we'll be looking to make more memories next season representing Killarney."