Bus carrying youth hockey team involved in non-fatal collision north of Edmonton

A bus carrying a junior hockey team lost control on a highway in northern Alberta and entered a ditch in a heavily-wooded area early Friday morning.

Athabasca RCMP responded to the single-vehicle collision on Highway 2, just south of Athabasca, Alta., about 130 kilometres north of Edmonton, where they found several occupants had sustained injuries. Two teenagers were sent to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Several other occupants were injured from the collision, but no fatalities were reported, police said.

The National Junior Hockey League (NJHL) confirmed in a statement Friday afternoon that the bus was carrying the Athabasca Rivermen Junior A Hockey Club, whose players range in age between 15 and 19.

Police believe that icy road conditions were a contributing factor in the crash.

The NJHL said that the bus was taking the team to a game in Crowsnest Pass, Alta., located about 165 kilometres south of Calgary.

The league said it is in communication with the team and local authorities, and it intends to provide the necessary supports to ensure the team’s mental health and well-being.

Athabasca RCMP, meanwhile, are reminding motorists to adjust to winter road conditions and to be cautious in rough weather, according to a news release issued Friday.