The Langley Eagles soared in the final of a bantam hockey tournament in Chilliwack last weekend – and at the same time managed to keep the Chilliwack C3 Seahawks grounded.
In a battle of teams sporting 5-0 tournament records, the Eagles skated to a 5-2 victory over the Seahawks in the C Division’s title game of the Paul Brenner Memorial Bantam Tournament, held Jan. 8 to 10.
With the win, the Eagles finished first among the 12 teams in the division.
In the third period, Trevor Young scored the game and tournament winning goal for Langley with the assist going to linemate Nicholas Cormack who also had two goals in the final.
The win capped a perfect weekend for the C3 Eagles, who went undefeated over the weekend while posting a perfect 6-0 mark to earn their second tournament victory of the year.
Eagles coach Clark Kemp was happy with his team’s play throughout the weekend.
“It took a great effort to win every game, with contributions coming from all players on the team,” Kemp said.
In their tournament opener on Jan. 8, the Langley faced the Chilliwack C2 Bruins, Chilliwack’s top Chilliwack bantam C team during the regular season.
Lex Rohweder scored Langley’s first two goals and paced Langley to a 3-1 lead after one period. Defenceman Brady Lumsden also chipped in with a goal as Langley pulled away in the second and third periods to win 10-1.
“Game MVP for Langley was forward Josh Laird who showed lots of hustle the entire game,” said Eagles manager Lars Nordal.
Also Friday, the Eagles skated to a 6-2 win over a strong Chilliwack C5 Spartans squad.
Colten Kenney paced Langley with four goals.
Just like in the first game, goalie Matthew Reeves made some great saves for Langley in the first period to keep the game close.
Making lots of smart plays and great passes, Carson Yee earned the MVP award for Langley.
Langley opened Saturday’s action with a morning game, scoring a 10-5 win over Kamloops.
Eric Nordal finished with three assists while game MVP (and defenceman) Owen Kredba battled large Kamloops forwards.
In their second game on Saturday Langley cruised to a 9-2 win over the Chilliwack C1 Knights. Greg Song scored twice while game MVP Owen Kemp had a strong game on defense.
The Eagles’ fifth game, played Sunday morning, was against Aldergrove C1. Forward Joseph Deley and defenceman Matt Bardell-Polley both scored for Langley in a 7-2 Eagles win.
Game MVP was forward Josh Moreau who “had lots of hustle playing on the wing,” Lars Nordal said.
Kemp said he feels “very fortunate to have such unselfish players, that buy into the team concept of achieving success.”
“This team never gives up, and seems to play their best against the top skilled teams,” he added.
No MVP was named for final game.
