Campbell River’s Atom A Tyees stormed back from an opening-round loss to earn a spot in the championship final and claimed silver in the Fred Chomos Invitational Hockey Tournament in Seattle.
Both losses for the REHN Enterprises atoms came at the hands of the Kamloops Cowboys, who downed the Tyees 3-0 in the teams’ first game, then prevailed 5-3 in the championship final.
In between, the Tyees topped the Surrey Eagles 2-1, downed the host Seattle Blue Admirals 4-2, then blanked the Coquitlam Chiefs 3-0 in the semifinals as goalie Emile Abele posted the shutout.
The tourney drew teams from B.C., Washington and Oregon.
In the final against Kamloops, the Tyees jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Koehn Obuck and Owen Lagos, with Ethan Vaton, Breydan Riecker, Gareth MacDonald and Ryan Newton registering assists. Kamloops got one back late in the first, though, then exploded in the third period for four goals to go up 5-2. Ryder Plecas potted another goal for the Tyees, but they could get no closer. Wyatt Dumont earned game MVP for his stellar defence.
In their semifinal win over Coquitlam, the Tyees got goals from Riecker, Vaton and Estabrook, with Vaton collecting two assists and Jordan Almer adding a helper. Vaton earned game MVP for his three-point performance.
In a must-win game against Seattle’s Blue Admirals, Obuck scored twice and Estabrook and Vaton added goals as the Tyees roared to a 4-0 lead. The hosts got two goals to make things interesting, but Campbell River killed a late penalty to preserve the win for goalie Tanner Ferrill. Reicker, who collected three assists, was named game MVP.
The Tyees bounced back from their first-round loss with a strong defensive showing in a tight game against Surrey in pool play. Obuck got the Tyees on the board with a great goal set up by linemates Riecker and Vaton, and that score held up until the Eagles tied it up on a power play early in the third. But Tyees winger Carson Harris passed the puck to defenseman Ryan Deagle, who stepped in from the point and ripped a shot from the top of the circle to take the lead back, earning MVP honors in the process. Abele picked up the win in net.
Jordan Almer got the game MVP in the opening loss to Kamloops for his great defensive work.
The tournament capped off a great season for the Tyees. The players, coaches, and parents were all very proud of the effort and strides made overall throughout the last several months together. The team would like to thank sponsors REHN Enterprises Ltd., Kurt Leroy Trucking, A.B. Edie Equities Inc., Broadstreet Properties, Grieg Seafood and Shell and all the player sponsors who supported us this season.
