PORT HARDY—They may not have upset the visiting down-Island juggernauts but the house atom teams of Port Hardy and Port McNeill had a good time trying at last weekend’s tourney at the Don Cruickshank Memorial Arena.
The North Island sides earned an all-local playoff in the fifth/sixth place decider of the six team tournament after falling foul of some tough visiting sides during Saturday’s round-robin stages.
The 12-5 scoreline in the Hardy victory was a little misleading — seven of the host’s twelve came in the third period.
Hardy held a 4-3 lead until adding a buffer late in the second. They exploded in the third however and raced out of sight with a flurry of strikes.
Brandon Brotchie was the top scorer for Hardy, bagging four and adding an assist.
David Hurley, Zack Noel and Sagel Wilson each netted twice, Hurley getting three assists and Noel helping once.
Rory Sinden was Hardy’s other scorer with Grant Joseph getting an assist.
Tristan Mardell topped the list for McNeill through a pair of goals, while Chelsea Noel, Xander Rutherford and Oxen Johnson got a goal apiece. Chelsea Noel also had a pair of assists and Rutherford a single in the game.
Peninsula took the top spot in a thrilling 7-5 final against Oceanside’s Men in Black.
With the clock running down on a 5-5 draw Peninsula found the net with less than two minutes on the clock.
The Men in Black pulled their goalie from the restart and surged forward desperately seeking a reply. A long, hopeful Peninsula effort towards the empty Oceanside goal was good, sending the bench into pandemonium.
Third place went to Lake Cowichan’s Lakers who beat out Powell River 6-5 in another tight contest.
