There was more than fatigue weighing down Jamie Jackson’s voice as he discussed his team’s run through the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League semifinals on Tuesday.
Disappointment carried a heavier toll than the three-games-in-three days series that his Vancouver Northeast Chiefs had just endured, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Vancouver Northwest Giants late Monday night.
You don’t get so close to upsetting a provincial powerhouse, having taken a 1-0 series lead and forcing extra time in the deciding game, without raising expectations.
“No, there was no satisfaction,” said Jackson of his team’s 2-1 semifinal defeat. “We went into the series wanting to win and wanted to close it out (Monday)... Absolutely I’m (proud), we really just started to find our way as a hockey team, we pushed them further than they probably thought.”
Although repeating as BCMML champs fuelled a lot of the talk at the start of the season, the Northeast club, with only four returnees, were slow in building chemistry, said Jackson.
“We struggled, struggled a lot, actually,” he noted. “We didn’t gel (after the Mac’s Midget tournament in Calgary at Christmas) the way we thought we would, and we were quite battered from that.
“With such a young team, it was tough on our confidence.”
The squad, which draws talent from east Burnaby, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities and Ridge Meadows, won its final four regular season games to finish sixth overall at 17-15-8 -- 10 wins back of the third-place Giants.
Among the major midget rookies this year were two New West talents — forward Liam Ryan, 16, and 6-foot-3 defender Emilio Salas, who two weeks ago turned 17.
Jackson was impressed with the strides both made over the season.
“(Ryan) struggled at first to adjust to major midget but put in lots of work and began to trust us as coaches,” noted Jackson. “He really excelled as the season went on, we moved him from left to right and he was a positive addition. He brought great energy to the group.”
The area facing the biggest rebuild was the blueline, but Jackson noted Salas became a steady contributor who was eager to learn.
“(Salas) worked extremely hard to improve specific areas of his game, and it really showed come playoff time.”
Salas contributed three assists over 37 games, while Ryan, skating on one of the top-two lines most of the year, tallied eight goals and 21 assists over 36 games.
The club, which was awarded the east Burnaby and New Westminster zones prior to the start of last season, believes the changes were a big benefit and should pay off in the coming years.
“We collected a bunch of guys who were ready for this level and I think without them we’d have really struggled.”
