Girhiny ready for championship run
Christian Girhiny, seen in this file shot playing for the St. Catharines Falcons, is off to the Royal Bank Cup with the Oakville Blades.
It has been a whirlwind season of hockey for Christian Girhiny.
The 20-year-old Thorold native began the season with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League before joining the St. Catharines Falcons of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. Girhiny had hoped to help the Falcons to a Sutherland Cup but when the Falcons were eliminated by the Niagara Falls Canucks in Game 7 of the Golden Horseshoe finals, Girhiny joined the Oakville Blades of the Ontario Junior Hockey League for a run at a Dudley-Hewitt Cup.
Girhiny, who was added to the Blades roster as an associated player and therefore eligible once the Falcons were eliminated, scored a goal in four post-season games for the Blades, who recently punched their ticket to the Canadian National, Junior A Championship, May 11-19, in Brooks, Alta.
Oakville, which defeated the Hearst Lumberjacks of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League 2-0, now advance to represent the Central Region at the Royal Bank Cup.
“I don’t think I’ve played on three different teams in my whole life and here I am playing on three teams in one season in different leagues,” Girhiny said. “It’s kind of crazy but I’ve been enjoying every second of it.
“We still have some work to do because our team wants to win a national championship.”
The Blades play the host Brooks Bandits Saturday and Prince George Sunday in the round-robin portion of the tournament.
Girhiny, who played in a Memorial Cup final with the Erie Otters two seasons ago, feels he can bring a fresh perspective to the Blades.
“I definitely think I can bring a different voice,” he said. “Not a lot of these players have played in championship games. I’ve definitely learned a lot when I was with Erie in that Memorial Cup run and I’m going to do my best to do bring that voice to Oakville and hopefully we can close this out and win an RBC Cup.
“Playing for a national championship is a whole new ball game. It’s not like you’re playing a series. You’re playing a few games and you have to make the best of it.”
Girhiny admitted it took a bit of time to adjust to another team this late in the season.
“It’s kind of weird joining a team, not at the beginning of a season, but at the end of a season, especially when you’re in the championship finals of the OJHL,” he said. “I had never played a game with these guys before and was trying to find their style of play.
“I’m flip-flopping through lines. The coach knows what I can do but he doesn’t know what other players can feed off of me but I think we’ve found a line that matches all three styles of our play and can run with it until something changes.”
Girhiny also recently accepted an offer to play for former Niagara IceDogs head coach Marty Williamson at Brock next season where he will study sport management.
“Being a local university attracted me. I wanted to stay close to home. I’ve kind of done all my travel so it’s going to be nice to be able to start up some school and enjoy a little more hockey.”
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