A pair of St. Albert Rams Lacrosse players shared in the success of Alberta repeating as midget A national champions.
Mathieu Gautier and Ronin Pusch contributed to Alberta going 7-1 at the Canadian Lacrosse Association tournament in Calgary, highlighted by Saturday’s convincing 7-2 victory over Ontario in the gold-medal match.
“Everyone thought Ontario was going to win it in the final but we played our hearts out and came out on top,” Pusch said.
It was Ontario’s first loss after starting off nationals by doubling Alberta 6-3.
“We were a little nervous in the first game. We hadn't really played that much together so everyone looked kind of shaky. But then as we came together through the tournament we starting building confidence and then it all came out in the final,” Pusch said.
Gautier agreed.
“We had all these plays designed, so it was our first time trying them in a real game. We didn’t really have them down yet so that’s why we couldn't pull off the win,” said Gautier, one of three returnees on the 22-man roster from the first Alberta team in history to win the Tackaberry Trophy in last year’s midget A final, 5-4 over Ontario in Whitby, Ont., as Alberta finished 8-0 (68 GF/27 GA).
“They’re both equal. They’re both really awesome and unbelievable. Both are great feelings,” Gautier said. “This year there were less teams in the round robin. There wasn’t Quebec so we had to play less games so less on our bodies but I would say the competition was about the same like Ontario.”
Alberta (7-1, 61 GF/24 GA) put the loss to Ontario (6-1, 65 GF/27 GA) in the rear-view mirror while accelerating past Nova Scotia 10-3, First Nations 8-2, Manitoba 11-2, British Columbia 5-4, Saskatchewan 9-1 and B.C. again 8-4 in the semifinal.
“First Nations was our first game against a good team that we knew we could beat but they would be good competition, and we blew them out pretty much,” Gautier said.
In the final, Alberta posted period leads of 2-0 and 4-1 and in the third scored the last three goals, including a pair of empty-netters with Pusch assisting on both markers.
“We took over the game halfway through and just kept scoring,” Gautier said.
It was 2-1 Alberta when Pusch fired his fourth goal of the tournament and second game-winner with 6:02 left in the second.
“I came in on a two-on-one and just shot it and it went short side on the goalie, top corner,” said Pusch, who finished the tournament with 10 points. “I got three points that game and I was pretty happy about it. I went out and played my best.”
Pusch, 16, thrived under the national spotlight.
“It was a pretty good opportunity for me to come out and play in this tournament because I could play junior next year and there was a lot of junior scouts there,” Pusch said. “I was pretty happy how I performed. The team had me on defence so it was kind of like, 'Wow, this guy is scoring a lot even though he is on defence,' so that was a big part it.
“It was just a really good experience. All the guys on our team are really nice and we come together as a team,” Pusch added. “It was lots of fun.”
Gautier, 15, also recorded 10 points while filling the net three times in his fifth lacrosse nationals in six years and the second at the midget level.
“I was happy loose-ball wise and running plays but I could’ve put the ball a little more in the net but I didn’t need to because we had other players to do that for us,” said Gautier, who notched four goals and 15 points last year.
Gautier and Pusch joined the Alberta lineup after a strong season with the midget A zone north Rams, silver medallists in the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council playoffs and Alberta Lacrosse Association provincials, and in both finals the Rams lost to the Parkland Posse.
Gautier (40 goals, 64 points in 22 games) and Push (25 goals, 50 points in 22 games) ranked first and second, respectively, in team scoring during the regular season and in the GELC overall scoring race Gautier finished first and Pusch tied for third.
The Grade 11 Bellerose students were also teammates with the 2017-18 midget 15 St. Albert Flyers in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.
So, do they like lacrosse better than hockey?
“Both are equal right now,” said Gautier, a centre.
“It’s kind of up there but yeah I would say so,” said Pusch, a left winger who also played high school rugby with the 2018 metro Edmonton division two champion Bellerose Bulldogs.
