It wasn’t the finish that the Lloydminster Bandits had envisioned for their dream season, but the faces of the franchise still remembered the good times and memories they believe will last a lifetime.
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Junior B hockey in Lloydminster won’t be the same next winter without the club’s four cornerstones whose playing eligibility expired last weekend, as the host Bandits went winless in four games at Alberta’s provincial championship tournament.
Graduating forwards Jayden Plamondon and Joel Webb, defenceman Kade Dennett and goaltender Shae Stewart left indelible marks on and off the ice through their four seasons with the Bandits.
“All the (2004-born) players, the guys always bug me, but they’re a special group to me, just because we started together,” said Josh Dudding, in his fourth year as Lloyd’s coach.
“I was so happy for us to win that (Northeastern Alberta) league championship and earn our way in here. The week didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but that was our message to the team.
“We had the parents of the ’04s read the lineup, and then before today’s game, we had all the fans and parents make a tunnel leading the players out onto the ice. They’re going to be dearly missed, and you can’t replace guys like that. I’m happy I got to be a part of that journey and that they got to wear the Bandits uniform.”
The graduating Bandits weren’t in any hurry to take off those jerseys for the final time Saturday, after the Bandits lost 6-3 to the Sherwood Park Knights. Lloyd players and family members gathered for photos and to share anecdotes from the year and their careers, rather than the pain of a rocky week at provincials.
In their respective post-game interviews with the Meridian Source, the seniors highlighted their bonds with each other and the rest of the team.
Plamondon talked about how special it was to win his first major hockey championship just eight months after capturing provincial gold in his final junior B lacrosse season with the Lloydminster Xtreme.
“I spent my whole career in the Lloyd area and that was my first-ever championship in hockey,” said Plamondon, graduating from college this spring as an electrician. “I’ll never forget the run that we did and the team that I did it with.
“Lacrosse was some of the most fun I’ve had, too. To win both of those titles in the same year, it was something I’ve never done, and it was really fun for me and (Jace) Gunderson.
“Unforgettable memories — this year was the most fun I’ve ever had in hockey. Junior B is what brought back the love of the game for me, too. It made it fun again.”
Webb recounted how far the Bandits have evolved as an organization since his age group joined a team coming off a four-win season.
“We’ve been able to turn Lloyd into a destination,” said Webb, the Bandits’ captain. “People want to come here now.
“Before we all showed up, as ’04s in our first year, Lloyd was a four-win club in the regular season. We’ve built every year. Our first year, we lost in the first round. The second year, it was the second round. The third year, it was the final, and our fourth year we conquered the final. So, we built every year, and I’m hoping this organization can build further.
“I’ll never forget this group. So many of us have never won or haven’t won one in ages. It’s a surreal feeling and something we’re going to cherish forever.”
In his bantam AAA year with Fort Saskatchewan, Webb won a provincial championship.
Stewart, the Lloyd goalie, related how meaningful an experience it’s been to play with his brother Corvan, a second-year Bandits’ forward and an assistant captain.
John MacNeil Meridian Source
“Oh, it’s huge,” Shae said. “Not a lot of people get the opportunity to play with their brothers, and that was really special to me. I like to joke with Corvan that the only reason they kept him was because of me. But no, he absolutely deserved to be here. He’s a huge part of this team.”
The Stewart brothers remain teammates of sorts on their Turtleford farm, as Corvan moves from his college studies to work with Shae back home.
“Free labour,” Shae joked.
Dennett, named the top defenceman in the six-team provincial championship, expressed hope that the departing Bandits become teammates again — in senior hockey — next season.
“We’re all really good friends,” Dennett said. “It’s been the best four years that I’ve played hockey with them.
“(Playing senior together) is the plan, and with some more buddies. It’s undecided yet where we’ll play.”
Regardless, he’ll miss the Bandits’ dressing room and the camaraderie.
“We’ll stop by the odd time, but it’ll feel different not being around the guys, for sure,” said Dennett, an accountant in his family’s business.
Shae Stewart is busy running his farm in Turtleford, so he suggested that community would be an ideal place for the graduating Bandits to reunite with the senior Tigers.
“Make them drive for once,” he joked about his Lloyd-based teammates. “I’ve been driving here for four years.”
Webb said he would talk about senior hockey come October. For now, he’s welcoming a break from the game and more time to spend doing his multiple jobs.
“This is a great chance to plug myself,” Webb said with a smile. “Spraying season is coming up, and anybody who owns a lake lot, give me a call at 780-872-0895 and I will cater to all your insecticide spraying needs — spiders, ants, ticks, you name it. It works.”
TOUGH TOURNAMENT
After a 4-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Cubs on opening night, the Bandits never really got on track at provincials. They fell 7-2 to the eventual champions, the La Crete Lumber Barons, on Thursday night in front of 1,000-plus Hub fans, the biggest crowd of the tournament. Lloyd lost 6-3 to the Calgary Northstars Black on Friday in a game that essentially put the Bandits out of medal contention.
“We knew going into today’s game that even a win wasn’t going to get us to (play for) bronze,” Dudding said Saturday. “We would have had to win by six or seven, just because of goal differential. So, knowing that, you still want to win the game, but today was more about celebrating the group and the season we had.”
Lloydminster won its first league crown since 2010, after sweeping the Vermilion Tigers in the best-of-seven final.
Both of those league finalists were already guaranteed berths in Alberta’s provincials, where the Tigers went on to capture the bronze medal Sunday.
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