More than a half-century of heartbreak was erased last weekend at UBC.
And a pair of Burnaby athletes contributed in big ways during the regular season and playoffs to help the Thunderbirds' men's hockey team win a conference banner for the first time in 53 years.
The T-Birds won its best-of-three series against the Calgary Dinos, 2-1, last Sunday, March 3, to claim the Canada West title and a spot at the national championships.
Sam Huo and Kaeden Lane, both 2019 graduates of Burnaby Central Secondary, kept UBC in contention throughout the 2023-24 campaign en route to hoisting the trophy on Sunday, March 3.
Huo, a second-year forward originally from Richmond, led the Canada West playoffs with five goals and eight points in six games.
This included a hat-trick in game two of the semifinal series against Alberta and an assist in Sunday's 5-3 championship victory over Calgary.
In the season, the former Wildcat was the second-leading scorer for UBC with a total of 33 points in 24 games — the sixth most of any skater in the Canada West conference.
His efforts also earned his a Canada West first-team all-star selection, as well as the U SPORTS men's hockey player of the week on Feb. 28.
Before UBC, Huo suited up in 270 Western Hockey League (WHL) games with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Tri-City Americans. He scored 60 goals and recorded 126 points in that span.
Lane didn't play between the pipes for the UBC T-Birds in the playoffs, but he came through when the team needed him.
The 22-year-old, as the back-up goaltender, tallied seven wins in 11 starts throughout the regular-season, posting a 2.84 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage.
Lane went the way of the junior "A" hockey leagues to get to the university level.
The netminder came up clutch in his senior year, winning 16 games for the Penticton Vees in the 2022 BCHL playoffs to lift Fred Page Cup. He recorded 28 wins during the regular season and a .910 save percentage.
Altogether, Lane played 50 games over two BCHL campaigns and added 74 two years prior with the Alberta junior league's Grande Prairie Storm.
Both Huo and Lane are alumni of Burnaby Winter Club and competed on the same Elite 15 squad in the 2016-17 season before moving on to their respective junior leagues.
They're now preparing for the 2024 U SPORTS University Cup championship, scheduled to take place March 14 to 17 in Toronto.
