2 Jasper hockey players killed in crash with semi on way home to Hinton

A western Alberta community is grieving the deaths of two teenage hockey players who were killed in a collision while headed home from practice on Monday night.

The players, two girls ages 17 and 18, were on the 75-kilometre drive from Jasper —where they played on the coed U18 Jasper Bearcats hockey team — to their home in Hinton.

“They were on their way back from hockey practice,” said Hinton Mayor Brian LaBerge, adding plenty of locals travel between the communities each day for work and other commitments.

“There’s a lot of people who work in Jasper who live in Hinton. We run a daily bus service out there, so the communities are really closely connected.”

The crash happened around 7:15 p.m., about 45 minutes after practice ended. The 17-year-old girl was behind the wheel of a pickup, and her 18-year-old teammate was a passenger, when the truck and a semi tractor-trailer collided on Highway 16, east of Jasper.

Both girls died on scene. RCMP said slippery road conditions are believed to be a factor.

LaBerge said the news of the deaths has shocked the town of about 10,000 people.

“It’s a small town. These are really involved young women known by a lot of people and it’s hard,” LaBerge said.

The team had just advanced to the second round of the playoffs this past weekend.

The Jasper Minor Sports Board said the community was grieving and thanked those who have reached out to offer support.

“Jasper Minor Sports extends our deepest condolences to the families, friends, teammates & community members of our beloved U18 Bearcats teammates who were bright shining lights on the Jasper ice,” the local organization said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

The girls attended Harry Collinge High School in Hinton, where classes were cancelled on Tuesday and will also be cancelled on Wednesday.

The Grande Yellowhead Public School Division said it was deeply saddened by the tragic loss.

“Our hearts and primary thoughts are with the families and friends of these students during this unthinkable time,” the school division said in a statement Tuesday, which also said supports were being sent to Hinton.

While classes are not in session, the division said the high school remains open as a supervised, safe space for students who wish to gather, support one another and speak with professionals.

“The high school is open and it’s available for any of the students who wanna go there,” LaBerge said.

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Kevin Zahara, the mayor of Edson, located about an hour east of Hinton, expressed his deepest condolences on Tuesday: “We share in your grief and loss. Our thoughts are with all those that are dealing with this tragic event.”

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland also said the “loss of this magnitude is beyond comprehension,” adding the girls were a part of the Jasper family through their hockey activities.

“I’m not surprised,” LaBerge said. “Between ourselves, Jasper, Edson, and the Yellowhead County — we’re all interconnected communities in tonnes of ways.”

The identities of the girls have not been released.

It’s the second deadly crash involving young hockey players in Alberta this month. On Feb. 2, three boys who played on the Southern Alberta Mustangs Junior hockey team were killed while heading to practice in Stavely, south of Calgary.