PHOTO COURTESY NINA RUCK
Medicine Hat Tigers forwards Markus and Liam Ruck pose with the championship trophy from the U17 Hockey Challenge, winning gold with Team Canada White after beating Team Canada Red 3-1 in the finals Saturday in Sarnia, Ont.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Markus and Liam Ruck returned golden from the U17 Hockey Challenge.
The twin Medicine Hat Tigers’ forwards won gold with Team Canada White at the five-nation tournament held in Sarnia, Ont., beating Team Canada Red 3-1 in the finals.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling winning a gold medal for your country, it’s the best feeling in the world,” Liam said. “It was great to do that with a great group of guys. It made it even more special.”
The Rucks were joined by six other WHLers on Team Canada White, former OHA Okanagan teammate Mathis Preston (Spokane Chiefs), Keaton Verhoeff (Victoria Royals), Carson Carels (Prince George Cougars), Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants), Giorgos Pantelas (Brandon Wheat Kings), Daxon Rudolph and Riley Boychuk (Prince Albert Raiders).
The tournament was the second time the pair has donned the red and white, having represented Canada earlier this year at the Youth Winter Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea.
Canada finished fourth in the tournament, falling to the eventual gold medal-winning United States, featuring Tigers’ rookie Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll. Getting another opportunity to win gold was a chance they couldn’t afford to squander.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted last time, so it was great to get a second stab at it,” Markus said. “We knew that we wanted this one, so you bought in a little more, blocked more shots and it ended up working.”
The older twin Markus had two goals and two assists, Liam chipped in four assists, recording an assist on both of his brother’s goals. Both had friendly jokes about the other’s success in the tournament.
“Had to let him get on the goal side once in a while,” Liam said.
With the gold medal win, the Rucks are the first Tigers to take home a medal since 2022 when now Prince Albert Raider Tomas Mrsic returned with a silver medal with Team Canada Red.
The pair had their dad Derek, former Lethbridge Hurricanes forward, in the stands for the whole tournament. He was joined by his wife Nina for the medal round, creating a family moment once the gloves flew and gold medals hung around the duo’s similar looking necks.
“It’s always been a dream of both of ours to wear the Leaf,” Liam said. “Getting to wear it twice now and just to win, it was an unbelievable feeling.”
Tigers had coach Willie Desjardins knows the feeling of winning gold for Canada, serving as an assistant coach for Team Canada’s 2009 World Junior gold medal team. He says the Rucks played well for Canada at the tournament and he is looking forward to seeing what they take away from the experience.
“They’re a really good talent, they’re super smart and they work hard,” Desjardins said. “They have a really good future and it’ll be great for them to come back. They’ll come back with a little bit more confidence.”
The pair agreed confidence and knowledge of how to win in big games were the takeaways from the tournament. Those lessons, and two gold medals to find a spot for at the family home in Osoyoos.
“I’ve never felt anything like that (winning), especially on the world stage, just the feeling of winning is amazing,” Markus said.
