The North Okanagan Kingfishers went 2-2 in round-robin play at the Kamloops Pirate Challenge AAA hockey tournament last weekend, finishing tied for fourth among Western Canada’s top 2005-born spring teams.
The Kingfishers missed the medal round, losing a goal differential tiebreaker with the Calgary Havoc.
In Friday games, the Kingfishers defeated the Kelowna Heat 8-6 after trailing 5-1 midway through the second period, and then lost 7-1 to the Jr. Steelers/Burnaby Winter Club.
“We had a tough start against Kelowna and gave up four powerplay goals,” said Kingfisher head coach Tim Milne. “The kids dug down and played an amazing third period to take the win. Unfortunately, it zapped them for their second match-up.”
In Saturday action, the Kingfishers defeated the B.C. Blackhawks of Richmond/Delta 5-3 and then bowed 10-4 to the No. 1 Vancouver Vipers.
“We played our best hockey of the year on Saturday,” said Milne. “Beating the Blackhawks was awesome and we played the Vipers tougher than anyone. We were overwhelmed by their team speed in the first and gave up six goals. But then the kids dug in, shut down their big guns and we won the second and third periods.”
The Vipers were the eventual winners with a 7-1 win over the Kamloops Ice Pirates.
The Kingfishers are comprised of 2005-born skaters from Vernon, North Okanagan and Salmon Arm.
