The Ridge Meadows midget A team took the silver medal as host in the Burrards Barn Burner tournament over the weekend.
Ridge lost the gold-medal game against a tough Coquitlam team, 5-3.
Coach Danny Harada said his lineup was decimated by injuries and illness, and he’ll look forward to matching up against Coquitlam in the future.
Burrards goaltender Nate Faccin was the most valuable player in two tournament games, including the championship final.
On one memorable play, he stopped the first shot, but was on his back, presumably down and out, as the rebound bounced back in front of his net. As the Coquitlam player went to slot an empty net goal – as easy as a six-inch putt or a five-yard field goal – Faccin’s stick rose up from the floor to rob him.
“He made a couple of really nice saves on Sunday,” said Harada.
Nick Scott also won a game MVP award, and he, Dylan MccIntosh and Dylan McCormick brought a lot of offence for the Burrards.
Gavin Bruce also took a player of the game award for his steady play all over the floor.
In round-robin play, Ridge beat Saanich 10-7 in the tournament opener on Friday night. They suffered an 8-3 loss to Coquitlam in their second game on Saturday morning, then on Saturday night beat Juan de Fuca 6-2.
Harada said his team played with a lot of pride in its home arena.
“When you’re hosting a tournament, it means a little bit more – you’ve got all your friends and fans out,” said the coach.
The A1 team also won the skills competition, which is one of the highlights of the tournament. Connor Evers ripped a shot that was 142 km/h, which was good for third place among players, and assistant coach Ray Richards led all coaches with his 125 km/h blast. MacIntosh competed in shooting accuracy, and McCormick was in the shootout for the winning team.
Through eight tiering games, the Burrards A1 team has gone 6-1-1.
“The strength of our team is playing good defence,” said Harada, “And then we have a good fast break, and good team speed.”
In the B division of the tournament at the Pitt Meadows Arena, Ridge opened with a 7-7 tie against Coquitlam. The lost to Juan de Fuca 6-3 on Saturday morning, but bounced back with a 6-3 win over Nicola Valley on Saturday night. They played Langley in the fifth place game and lost 6-2.
