Seven local minor hockey teams – including three from the Surrey Female Hockey Association – had their eyes on a provincial title last week, competing at B.C. Hockey championships throughout the province.
The Cloverdale Colts found success on the ice at bantam tier 1 competition in Kamloops, finishing second after a 6-5 loss to the Burnaby Winter Club in the championship game.
Prior to the loss to BWC, the Colts dispatched Prince George 7-1 in semifinals, and prior to that, defeated the Victoria Racquet Club, 7-4; Kelowna, 4-1; Kamloops, 8-2; and Burnaby Winter Club, 5-3.
The SFHA’s Surrey Falcons also had a successful week.
The Falcons’ peewee squad finished in second place, dropping a narrow 1-0 game to the North Shore in Thursday’s final.
The Falcons went undefeated in the six-game round-robin portion of the tournament, held in Richmond, defeating Vancouver Island, 6-1; Prince George, 9-0; Rossland-Trail, 1-0; Vernon, 2-0; and Richmond, 2-1. Last Monday, on Day 2 of the tourney, the Falcons tied North Shore 3-3.
In addition to their silver-medal provincial showing, the Falcons are the reigning Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association champs, having defeated the North Shore 2-1 in the finals earlier this month.
The bantam Falcons also had a good week, placing third at 10-team provincials in Victoria. Surrey went 2-3-1 in round-robin action, before advancing to the bronze-medal game, where they lost 2-1 to the North Shore. Ashley Long scored for Surrey.
The Falcons started strong, defeating the North Island Edge 6-1. Long netted four goals, with Natalie Richardson and Tianna Nijjar adding singles.
In the team’s second game, Long and Tagen Rossner each scored in a 3-2 loss to Kelowna, and the next day, Long had a hattrick in a 5-5 tie with Terrace – a game in which the Falcons erased a two-goal, third-period deficit. Mandy Pollack and Jazmine Bal also scored for Surrey.
Pollack had two more goals, with Long and Madison Eaton notching singles, in a 4-3 win over Cranbrook Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Falcons fell 5-1 to Prince George in semifinal action, with Kaitlyn Korman scoring the Falcons’ lone goal.
The Surrey Falcons midget squad went 3-3 in their tournament in Salmon Arm, with wins over Salmon Arm, Whitehorse and Vancouver Island, and losses to Windermere Valley, Richmond and Kelowna.
Two Semiahmoo Minor Hockey teams also battled for a B.C. title last week, as the Ravens’ peewee and bantam A3 squads competed in their respective tier 3 tournaments.
The Semi peewees lost their first game, 6-2 to Quesnel, and followed with a 9-3 loss to Vanderhoof the next afternoon.
On Tuesday, the Ravens dropped their third, losing 9-1 to eventual-champions Whistler. Semiahmoo finished the tournament, which was held in Quesnel, with a 5-5 tie with Vancouver Island’s Kerry Park Islanders.
Semiahmoo’s bantam A3 squad managed a 1-2-1 round-robin record at provincials, held at Burnaby Winter Club, but were ousted from playoff contention Wednesday after a 6-3 loss to Terrace. Semi’s one win came last Monday, 6-5 over Kamloops.
In juvenile provincials, held at Seafair in Richmond, the Surrey Thunder went 2-1-2 in the six-team event, which was won by Burnaby Winter Club, who defeated Winfield 5-1 in the final.