42nd Mac's Invitation Tournament Champions!

When I first joined the Calgary Buffaloes Hockey Association in 2008 I remember going to the Mac's Tournament final to watch the Buffaloes win the tournament vs Ryan Nugent Hopkins and his Vancouver NW Giants on New Years Day at the Calgary Saddledome. I still remember how amazing I thought it was that these teams and kids at this age (U18) got to play in a NHL Arena.

             

Fast forward to New Years Day 2020. The Buffaloes haven't won this tournament since 2008. This time I'm with the team behind the bench as their Trainer. We played the Moose Jaw Warriors and beat them 6-2 to claim the 42nd Mac's Tournament Championship. 

The experience was surreal. The tournament itself was a grind. We got the right bounces and the right contributions from everyone at the right time. The feeling of waking up that New Year's Day and walking to the rink to get ready to go the Saddledome was unreal. I'll post a link to a video I made of it. The best thing though was I got to share this experience with my wife and son Cooper. Cooper was on the bench with me and also got to come out on the ice with me for the celebration and photo. What an unreal experience.