Schedule announced for 2023 Men’s U18 National Club Championship

The Notre Dame Hounds are heading to Okotoks with a wealth of TELUS Cup
experience. With 54 wins and a record five national titles across their 11
appearances at Canada’s National Men’s U18 Club Championship, the Hounds
are on the hunt for another success in Southern Alberta.

After edging out the Saskatoon Blazers by a single point atop the
Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) during the regular season,
the Hounds dropped just two of 11 playoff games en route to the SMAAAHL
championship, including a sweep of Warman in the final.

Notre Dame ran through the preliminary round at the West Regional without a
loss, and looked to be in control of the final with an early 3-0 lead over
the host Southwest Cougars. But the Cougars battled back, and it took an
Andrew Altwasser goal with 17.2 seconds left to give the Hounds a 4-3
victory and a spot in Okotoks.

They’re back at the national championship for the first time since they won
it all in Sudbury, Ont., in 2018, looking to prove once again why they’re
considered among the premier hockey programs in the country.

The Hounds own a high-powered offence, with Cole Wirun and Ethan Look, who
finished second and third, respectively, in SMAAAHL scoring, leading a
group that potted a league-leading 233 goals.

But Jeremy Mylymok, Notre Dame’s director of hockey, is quick to point out
it’s a well-rounded roster, one that will serve the Hounds well in a
seven-games-in-seven-days tournament like the TELUS Cup.

“We have four lines that can play,” he says. “We don’t rely on one line or
one power player or one goalie.”

Notre Dame is also built on cohesiveness, with a large portion of the group
having grown up together at the Wilcox, Sask.-based school.

“We have some first-year, second-year guys, too, but over half the team is
three- or four-year players that have developed here at Notre Dame,”
Mylymok says. “So we know these players well, they really put in the work
to get where they’re at today.”

And let’s not forget the experience behind the bench. Head coach Del
Pedrick returned to the Hounds this season after a short stint in Romania;
he was the bench boss when Notre Dame won back-to-back TELUS Cup
championships in 2009 and 2010.

The Hounds open their

TELUS Cup schedule

against the Atlantic Region champions, the Moncton Flyers, on May 16.

HOW…