When the Thompson Jr. Blazers won the 48th edition of the storied Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament (KIBIHT) during the Christmas break, they did it with more than a little bit of help from Merritt.
Playing for the Thompson team were 14-year-old Tallon Zakall and 13-year-old Chase Cooke, a pair of defencemen who call the Nicola Valley home, attend Merritt Secondary School, and have played all their minor hockey up until this year with the local Merritt association.
Also suiting up for the Jr. Blazers at KIBIHT was 14-year-old forward Spencer Vaughan, who was born and raised in Merritt, but moved to Kamloops last year.
Zakall and Cooke became eligible to play for the Thompson team when it was designated a ’zone’ tier 1 squad for the 2016-17 season. Players from surrounding associations that didn’t have a tier 1 team could try out for the Jr. Blazers. This is a new initiative by BC Hockey, and applies province-wide to the bantam and midget levels only. Players must have the permission of their home associations before trying out for a zone team.
The two Merritt boys attended tryouts in Kamloops in September and early October, along with approximately 50 other players including Vaughan. After four practices, there were some cuts, followed by a mini-tournament with other zone teams. Zakall, Cooke and Vaughan all made the final tier 1 squad.
“It was a tough transition, especially since I had just played bantam house (in Merritt) the season before,” said Zakall. “Fortunately, I had also played two years of high-level spring hockey with the Okanagan Lakers, so that really helped.”
“It’s been a huge adjustment,” added Cooke, who played peewee rep last year in Merritt. “Not only the body contact, but the speed. And the players are so much bigger. You really have to keep your head up.”
Zakall and Cooke are the only two players on the Thompson team from outside Kamloops. It has required a huge commitment by the two Merrittonians and their supporting cast of family members.
“We have three practices during the week — on Monday and Tuesday nights, and on Thursday mornings at 5:45 a.m.,” said Zakall. For the early practices, Chase and I go up to Kamloops on Wednesday nights and stay at his auntie’s.”
Zakall’s and Cooke’s parents do the lion’s share of the driving, but grandparents have been succonded on more than a few occasions. It’s usually Cooke’s grandma who makes the afternoon run on Wednesdays and stays over.
“Thursday mornings, she’s parked outside the rink, engine running, Tim Hortons breakfast-to-go orders ready for the boys,” said Chase’s mom, Keri, with a laugh. “She’s beepin’ her horn and saying, ‘Let’s go.’”
According to Zakall, the boys have yet to be late for school back in Merritt on a Thursday, but it’s been close.
“We’re all so fortunate to have so much family support,” said Keri. “It just wouldn’t be possible otherwise.”
Chase’s mom said the other players on the Thompson team and their families have been tremendous, too.
“We get countless offers from team members and their parents,” said Keri. “There isn’t a week goes by that somebody isn’t asking if we need any accommodation or rides. Everyone’s been really receptive and supportive of the boys from out-of-town. It’s been a blessing.”
Not only the practice schedule is hectic. Most every weekend is filled with league games or tournaments. The furthest team in their division is Prince George, and they’ve also traveled to Calgary and the Lower Mainland for three-day tourneys.
“I think we’ve had one weekend off since the season started, and that was only because the games got rescheduled,” said Cooke.
All-around athletes, both Zakall and Cooke have had to make some tough decisions when it comes to sports. Zakall played volleyball last year in Grade 8, but not this fall. He’s also had little time for badminton; last winter, he competed in the B.C. Winter Games in Penticton. Cooke has had to put both fall soccer and winter basketball at MSS on the back burner.
“I’m still hoping that I can do high school rugby and track and field in the spring, and play youth soccer. I knew that there would be some sacrifices if I wanted to try the highest level of [minor] hockey,” said Cooke.
Jr. Blazers off to a hot start
With Zakall, Cooke and Vaughan making important contributions, the Thompson Jr. Blazers are enjoying a very successful season so far. They’re in first place in the Okanagan-Mainline league (OMAHA), and have first and second-place finishes in two of their five tournaments to date.
The highlight of the season so far, however, was the win at KIBIHT, only the third by a Kamloops-based team in the event’s history.
The Jr. Blazers opened the tournament with an 8-2 and 5-3 wins over a team from Italy and Saanich respectively. Then they lost their only game of the round robin, 4-2 to Sherwood Park, Alta.
Seeded sixth going into the playoffs, the Thompson team upset third-ranked Grande Prairie, Alta. 5-2 in the quarterfinals, and then knocked off their league rivals from Vernon, 3-2, in one of two semis.
The championship game saw the Jr. Blazers in a rematch with Sherwood Park for the gold medal. It was a beauty.
The Jr. Blazers roared out to a 4-1 first-period lead, and upped it to 5-1 after 40 minutes. That’s when the team from Alberta mounted its comeback, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to deadlock the game at 5-5 and send it to extra innings.
The first 10-minute of OT settled nothing; however, at the 8:45-mark of the second overtime period, Thompson’s Logan Stankoven went in on a breakaway and buried the sudden-death winner for a 6-5 victory. It was Stankoven’s third goal and fifth point of the game, and earned him tournament MVP honours.
Zakall, Cooke and Vaughan have all been important contributors to the success of the Thompson tier 1 bantam team, according to head coach Kyle Allan. Between them, the lads have over 50 points in goals and assists.
“Tallon is a skilled defenceman — a good skater who makes smart decisions,” said Allan. “Positionally, he understands the game. He’s also played two games with the Thompson Blazers of the BC Major Midget League.
“Chase is one of seven first-year players on the team. He competes hard all the time, and is very tough to play against.
“Spencer is a skilled player who can play a complete game. He uses his size and skill well, and contributes on both sides of the puck.
All three players are looking forward to March, when the team will be hosting the provincial tier 1 bantam championships.
