BLACKBURN Hawks’ title winning season will be Jared Owen’s last, after five years with the club.

The player-coach has announced he will leave the Moralee Division One North champions following next month’s play-offs for family reasons.

The 25th anniversary game against a team of Hawks legends on April 25 will be his last in charge.

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But while he has mixed emotions about his Hawks exit, and retirement from ice hockey, Owen is glad to be bowing out on a high with the league’s ‘invincibles’.

“From the summer we felt like we got the additional players we needed. I was confident with the squad we had got we would be right up there. But for it to turn out the way it did was unbelievable,” said Owen, whose side were unbeaten in the league - winning 21 and drawing three of their 24 games.

“To see it all come together after five years, to get that first league title in our anniversary season, I’m proud to have been part of it.

“The play-offs is my farewell, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

“It’s the best team I’ve had, and I’m hopeful we will pick up that play-off title to top it all off.”

Owen explained how the 220-mile round trip from his home town of Telford for Thursday night training sessions, and weekend games, was taking its toll.

“It all adds up, especially when you are getting home in the early hours of after training and are then in work,” he said.

“Plus my little boy is five this summer and it’s hard at weekends leaving him. I don’t want to miss him growing up, with the travel on a Thursday and then spending most Saturdays and Sundays away.

“I spoke to arena management about it and we came to an agreement that I won’t be back next season.”

Owen admitted that signing off after a successful season so far was some consolation.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I’ve loved my time with Blackburn - it’s an amazing place to play and coach and it’s been my best season with the club in terms of points and players,” said the 34-year-old, who targeted the title from the outset. Their ‘invincibles’ tag became an added bonus.

“With the goals I set myself at the start of the season, I wanted to make sure we were unbeaten at home. That was important if we wanted to be competing,” he continued.

“But going the whole season unbeaten...I looked at the league and thought: ‘It’s not going to be easy’, and it hasn’t been. We’ve had to come from behind in some games.

“But midway through the season I thought it was a real possibility.

“We managed to dig deep, which we needed to at times.”

But with the play-offs between the league’s top four on the horizon, Owen wants to go one better.

Hawks must win their next two games, in next month’s play-off weekend in Dumfries, to do the double.

“We’ve got one more job. There’s one more trophy to win,” he said. “I know we are good enough to win that trophy and I’m confident we will turn up with the right attitude and right mentality to do what we need to do on the ice.

“It’s winner takes all. I want the players to do it for themselves because it’s a chance to put themselves in the history books of Hawks hockey.”