The Mission Minor Hockey Midget A1 team defeated Port Moody 4-3 on Tuesday night to qualify for the provincial championships in Prince George, March 14-17.
After defeating North Shore Winter Club 4-1 on Sunday, Mission was in position to clinch a provincial berth Tuesday night, and they did just that. The team is the only MMHA team to qualify for provincials.
“I’m so proud of the guys. I really can’t put it into words,” said head coach Wes McLeod.
“The guys just stepped up. Most of our team was sick tonight. We had three players missing, and several others played sick.”
Down 3-1 in the third period, Mission defenceman Dawson Nelson scored a pair of goals to tie the game at three. Kyle Mooney, who scored the first goal of the game, added his second of the night for the game-winner.
Goalie Chad Cromar, also playing sick, was outstanding once again.
“Chad has played six games in a row for us,” said McLeod. “He’s been an absolute wall. He had back-to-back shutouts last round against Coquitlam. Our team learned how to win in that series, and we carried it into the final four.”
The challenge now is to take their game to the highest level. The provincials include the top eight teams from around B.C.
