Jagger Williamson doesn’t think it will take much for the Vernon Watkin Motors Mustangs to get jacked about opening the 40th annual Coca-Cola Pee Wee Invitational Hockey Tournament Thursday morning against the Anchorage All-Stars at Civic Arena.
The Mustangs are totally ready for the eight-team international classic after being swept by the Kelowna Rockets in the Okanagan Mainline Pee Wee Tier 1 league semifinal series Sunday.
“I’m kind of excited and I’m trying to get the team pumped up too,” said Williamson, when asked if he was nervous about the prestigious tourney.
The 12-year-old captain is a sparkplug for the Mustangs, firing seven goals and 18 points in league play, second on the team behind Kaden Black (13-8-21).
Kelowna iced the Mustangs 5-1 Sunday at Wesbild Centre after taking Friday night’s opener 8-0 in Kelowna.
The Mustangs face the Juan de Fuca Grizzlies of Vancouver Island in Thursday night’s feature game at 6 p.m. and then tangle with the powerful St. Albert Sabres Friday AT 3 p.m.
In other games Thursday, Juan de Fuca meets St. Albert at 10:15 a.m., the Campbell River Tyees tangle with the red-hot Simons Valley Rebels of Calgary at 12:30 p.m., the Surrey Thunder play the Spokane Jr. Chiefs at 2:45 p.m. and St. Albert battles Anchorage at 8 p.m. The semifinals go Saturday at 12:30 and 2:45 p.m., while the A final is scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m.
Vernon’s Nixon Wenger Thrashers are going to a third and deciding game with Kamloops in the Pee Wee Tier 2 semifinals.
A streaking Kyle Sherwood took a feed from Bryn Bedard and using Austin Caldwell as a decoy, roofed the overtime winner glove side as Vernon won a 3-2 thriller Sunday at Priest Valley Arena.
Vernon’s bench erupted as both coaches and players celebrated their best game of the season and a well-deserved victory.
The Thrashers, trying to salvage a 1-16-1 regular season, lost the opener 9-1 in Kamloops.
Vernon opened up the scoring on a sweet goal by Jason Shaigec after Logan Imrich took a hit to make the breakaway pass. Kamloops equalized and the teams went into the ice clean at 1-1.
Kamloops (5-10-3) scored the go-ahead goal on a deflection off a skate past Shane Meadhal, who stood tall in net all game.
With less than four minutes left to play, Vernon pressed hard, and with some determined effort, Sherwood scored from Riley Swiscoski. Vernon almost notched the winner on a designed play with 20 seconds left.
With the hometown fans hoarse from screaming, Vernon and Kamloops went into a sudden-death 10-minute period. Sherwood ended things at 5:25.
In the opener, Vernon tied it 1-1 on a blast from the point from Ethan King assisted by Sam Eggert and Sherwood. Kamloops took a 2-1 lead into the ice clean.
Some late hits and cheap shots boiled over at the end of the game, leaving both teams seeing red. Game three goes this weekend in Kamloops.
The Vernon Coca-Cola Vipers were swept 4-1 and 6-4 by first-place Kamloops Blazers in the Midget Tier 2 playoff semifinal series.
Jared Barendregt, assisted by Liam Revell and Conor Payne, handled Vernon’s goal in Kamloops.
Sunday’s game two at Civic was a hard-fought battle with the 2-10-3 Vipers determined to stay alive in the series.
Kamloops (12-3-1) went ahead 3-0 in the first period.
Vernon outscored the Blazers in the second period. Malcolm MacPhee scored a beauty, assisted by Brad Jones and Barendregt, and then Revell connected on a backhand top corner shot after being fed by Wyatt Bonneau.
Kamloops counted two at the end of the second period, but the Coke crew answered with two goals in the third by d-man Kyle Clark, assisted by Owen Barker on the first, and Barendregt and Barker on the second.
The Sun Valley Sports Renegades lost 7-0 to host Penticton Vees Sunday afternoon in game one of the best-of-three semifinal Bantam Tier 1 series. The Renegades took 52 of 82 penalty minutes.
Game 2 in the series goes Saturday, 5 p.m., at Priest Valley.
The Vernon Veterinary Clinic Knights bowed out of the Bantam Tier 3 playoffs, falling 4-1 and 5-2 to Kamloops.
Cameron Hitch scored from Austin Derkach and Jeff Hiscoe in the series opener. Louis Springer showed his flexibility in net facing 39 shots.
On Saturday at Wesbild Centre, the Knights got solid results from call-ups Brett Jewell and Brock Wagner.
Jewell scored Vernon’s first goal assisted by Hayden Chase and Shayne Groenveld. Wagner netted the second goal with assists from Chase and Jewell. Bryce Dyck had a solid performance in net.
The H&L Glass Wolfpack swept a pair of Senior Atom Developmental League games, surprising the host Kelowna Spartans 3-2 Saturday and then grounding the Westside Warriors 6-3 Sunday at Wesbild Centre.
House League call-up Landon Harrison scored twice, including the winner, and Devin Pimm had the other in the Pack’s win over Kelowna. Dylan Blazek went the distance in net.
Joe Eggert and Powell Connor each scored twice as the Wolfpack iced Westside. Nicholas Cherkowski and Eric Noren supplied singles in support of Caden Colemorgen.
The Valleywood Venom stopped the Kelowna Eagles 5-4 as Levi Danbrook and Coleton Bilodeau each netted 2+1. Mika Burns had two helpers.
