Revelstoke’s Bantam hockey team made the long trek to Dawson Creek, B.C. for the provincial championships March 17-21.
Continuing with the style of play that got them to the provincials, the boys competed hard and maintained their team-first attitude. Teams representing all areas of the province were split into two pools for tournament play: Dawson Creek Canucks, Langley Eagles, Port Moody Panthers, Smithers Storm and Whitehorse Mustangs and then the Revelstoke Grizzlies, Castlegar Rebels, Cranbrook Ice, Juan de Fuca Grizzlies, and Quesnel Thunder.
Revelstoke’s first game against Juan de Fuca was a 4-2 victory; Taylor de Groot opened scoring with Ullar Wiatzka following up with goals in the second and third periods.
The second day was a challenging day for Revelstoke, playing the top two seeded teams of the tournament.
Revelstoke played an organized team system against Quesnel with goals by Nii Noi Tetteh, Taylor de Groot and Peter Grimm. Quesnel played a tough game, and with Mac Reynolds’ excellent goal tending, the game ended in a 3-3 tie. This tie against Revelstoke was the only point that Quesnel gave up on their way to becoming provincial champions.
Against Castlegar later that night, Revelstoke started off strong with two goals in the first by Tetteh and Josh Pilon. Castlegar fought back to tie it up by the end of the first period. Revelstoke played hard but was unable to put in any more goals against the Castlegar goalie, so the game ended with a final of 6-2 for Castlegar. Revelstoke’s last game against Cranbrook was a strong 10-3 win.
The top two teams in each pool proceeded to the semifinals; Whitehorse, Smithers, Castlegar and Quesnel proceeded to the semi-finals and then Castlegar and Quesnel to the final game of the tournament.
The Revelstoke Bantam Grizzlies, which includes Sicamous’ Hayden Gjaltema, Liam Sutherland and Brayden Fairley, represented our city well, being awarded the Fair Play Award, given to the team who best represented themselves on and off the ice.
Tournament organizers checked with local hotels and businesses to get an idea of which teams were the best ambassadors for their city.
The Bantam’s success couldn’t have been achieved without the fantastic support of the communities of Revelstoke and Sicamous, which was much appreciated by parents and players.
