The Chilliwack C1 Spartans blanked North Vancouver 3-0 on Sunday to capture their second straight midget hockey tournament title.
The Spartans started their march to victory in a strange way.
Facing Aldergrove in their opener, Chilliwack got two goals from Carson Robinson and led 5-3 in the final minute, but had to settle for a 5-5 tie. Aldergrove got within one with 36 seconds left, pulled their goalie and scored the equalizer with .8 seconds on the clock.
A dejected Spartan squad fell behind 4-1 in their second game, versus North Delta, but roared back with six straight goals. Clayton Holliday led the way with three plus an assist. DJ Hallett notched a goal and two helpers, defenceman Justin McDonald added a goal and an assist and Brendan Toriumi notched the winner on a breakaway half way through the third period.
North Delta’s starting goalie was injured during the game and a defenceman was forced to suit up in his place. At the end of the game, the Spartans awarded the post-game sportsmanship award to the fill-in goalie and congratulated him for a game well-played.
A 4-2 loss to North Vancouver Saturday night (goals by Nahum Hoeppner and Tyler Schreurs) seemed to dash Chilliwack’s title hopes, relegating them to a semi-final match versus unbeaten Quesnel Black.
But the Spartans rose up for a 3-1 upset win in a foul-filled match that saw Chilliwack and Quesnel combine for 28 penalties. Clayton Holliday had two goals with game MVP Josh Urquhart adding a single.
Goaltender Matt Grey was the gold medal game MVP in the rematch with North Van.
Dylan Green was a tower of power on defence and picked up an assist.
