Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE – Dylan Cozens, right, celebrates a goal with his Bantam Mustangs teammates during game action in Whitehorse earlier this season.

Mustangs continue to turn heads with Tier 1 wins

The Bantam Mustangs continue to steamroll their opposition, no matter what level.

By Marcel Vander Wier on December 17, 2014

The Bantam Mustangs continue to steamroll their opposition, no matter what level.

The Whitehorse rep hockey club, sponsored by Mic Mac Toyota, went 4-1 in a five-game series against Tier 1 teams on Vancouver Island Dec. 11 to 14.

The Mustangs, a Tier 3 club, beat Juan de Fuca 3-1, Shawnigan Lake 4-3, Comox Valley 9-4 and Shawnigan Lake, again, 5-2.

The club’s lone loss came vs. Nanaimo in their second game, 3-0.

Once again, Bryce Anderson, Dylan Cozens, and Joe Stokes led the way offensively, combining for 29 points in five games.

Cozens scored seven goals alongside two helpers in a second-line role, while Anderson (4G, 5A) and Stokes (4G, 7A) worked together with Lochlan Fraser (2G, 1A) to form a high-powered first line.

“We didn’t think we were going to win, but after we won our first game, we started to gain confidence,” Cozens told the Star.

“We’ve never had a Mustangs team who’s played at this level. ... We did better than we thought we would for sure.”

The 13-year-old said it helped that goalie Ethan Vanderkley was nothing short of “amazing” between the pipes.

The blueline was anchored by stalwarts Cruz Goodman, Niall Lawrie and first-year Brett Walchuk.

Head coach Martin Lawrie admitted he didn’t expect such favourable results from his squad.

“I expected we’d be able to compete, for sure,” he said. “But coming out with four wins was kind of a treat. ... This team is definitely beyond Tier 3, there’s no question about that.

“We may have surprised the Juan de Fuca team, but after that, everyone was prepared for us, for sure.”

The exhibition series follows stellar tournament wins by the Mustangs earlier this year.

The club kicked off their season in October, going unbeaten en route to a gold medal win at the Tier 2 Seafair Sandman Hotel Icebreaker Rep Tournament in Richmond, B.C.

Then in November, the hosts went unbeaten at the 2014 WMHA International Showdown Tournament, winning gold with an 8-1 blowout win over Yellowknife.

Lawrie said he believes his club has a good a chance as any to take a run at the Tier 3 provincial title in Port Hardy next March.

“You hate saying it, but honestly I think from what I’ve seen to date, I’d be surprised if we’re not going in as favourites,” the coach said. “We’re definitely going to be a team that will make noise.”

“We think we have a good shot at winning provincials,” added Cozens. “But we can’t be underestimating teams just because they’re Tier 3.”

In other news, both Cozens and Anderson again found their names among western Canada’s top hockey prospects, as published by Western Elite Hockey Prospects recently.

Cozens, who was ranked second last year, dropped to 47th, while Anderson – previously 47th – is now ranked at 120.

The two 2001-born players have another year of hockey left before being considered for the Western Hockey League bantam draft.

Cozens, who was hampered by a variety of injuries last season, said he was disappointed to see his stock fall, before vowing to work hard to “get back up there.”

“It’s really cool,” Lawrie said of the rankings. “We get a little more attention when we travel.”

Lawrie said he hopes Stokes and Vanderkley are able to make their way onto the WHL radar going forward.

Comments (2)

Up 6 Down 1

Julivanie Suhardja on Dec 19, 2014 at 11:50 am

Terrific Teamwork!! Dylan is Cool Cozens, Bryce Anderson, Niall Lawrie, Ethan Vanderkley, Brett Walchuk everybody in the team is awesome!!
I agree with Blue liner, Joe Stokes is my fave player. His outlook is really supportive Stokes for the team.. All in all, keep up the great work you guys.

Up 28 Down 2

Blue liner on Dec 17, 2014 at 2:57 pm

I think Joe Stokes is my favourite player to watch on that team. He's not the biggest guy but he goes 100% and always finishes his checks.

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