U15AAA SEAC Tigers excited for 49th Hockey Hounds tourney

By JAMES TUBB on November 16, 2022.

The 49th annual Hockey Hounds tournament gets underway this weekend.

The annual U15 tournament will have 14 teams from across Western provinces arriving to the Hat for a weekend of high-calibre minor hockey.

Medicine Hat’s entry, the South East Athletic Club U15 AAA Tigers, have had a slow start to their Alberta Elite Hockey League season, with an early record of 1-11-1. Head coach Mike Mueller says they are excited to get on home ice and play in the historic tournament in front of friends and family.

“Our schedule to date and our league has been largely on the road, we haven’t played a lot at home, so we’re excited to get going on it,” Mueller said. “It gives us some exposure to some other teams we don’t see that aren’t in our league. Sports school teams, those from Saskatchewan. I think our players are excited.”

The Tigers get their tournament started Thursday night with a 8:30 p.m. tilt against West Central at the Kinplex. They have only three returning players from last year’s team who finished in fourth place, the best finish from a Medicine Hat team in more than a decade.

Mueller says his team needs to work hard every night and play to their strengths to find success.

The Hounds tournament is known for being a scouting opportunity for WHL teams ahead of their prospect draft in May. Mueller says they haven’t talked about scouts at the tournament but is appreciative of the attention a hockey town like Medicine Hat gives his players.

“We try to just stick to what we’re doing on a day-to-day basis. I’m a firm believer if you do things the right way, if you play the right way, regardless of where you’re playing, people are going to notice you,” Mueller said. “But this is certainly an avenue where we’re going to get a little bit extra exposure.

“Special thanks to the Hockey Hounds for putting this tournament on, it’s a great opportunity for people within the Medicine Hat community to come out and see some really good hockey and experience teams from all over Western Canada.”

SEAC captain Kade Dickie is one of the three returning players and says he’s excited for another shot.

“We’re coming off a good weekend where we get our first win of the season and then a tough loss in overtime, but first three points this season,” Dickie said. “So we’re excited and we have momentum going into it.

“If we have a big tournament, we can use that momentum from it and carry it into the season and hopefully win some more games.”

SEAC forward Brennan Finke says he’s looking forward to taking part in the historic tournament and going through it with his team.

“We’ve improved a lot since the start of the season, we started slow and since then it’s gone up and it’s been good,” Finke said.

The rest of the SEAC’s round-robin games are Friday at 11 a.m. against OHA and Friday at 8:30 p.m. against St. George’s School, both at the Kinplex.

Mueller says he has no expectations for the tournament but is looking for his team to put together 60-minute efforts and manage the adversity they will eventually face.

“If we concentrate on the process, the results, they’ll take care of themselves,” Mueller said.

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