In a barn burner Sunday afternoon at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex, a lakecity team narrowly missed skating away with the championship at the Williams Lake Minor Hockey Association Midget House Tournament.
Facing a tough Kamloops Breezers’ squad and down 4-0 early in the final of the 10-team tournament, the Williams Lake Rope Rippers saw some momentum begin to go their way.
First, it was an early third-period tally from Logan Hutchinson with just under 14 minutes to play, followed by his second of the game just 20 seconds later to cut the deficit in half.
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Despite applying more pressure in the offensive zone for the latter part of the final frame, the Rope Rippers weren’t able to muster any more offence, falling 4-2 to the Kamloops side.
Rope Rippers head coach Corwin Smid said following the game he’s proud of the way his team competed.
“I love this team,” he said. “I’m proud of what they accomplished and they play as a team. Down 4-0 and we came back and made a game out of it, and Kamloops isn’t easy. They’re like giants out there and we’ve got a bunch of Grade 10 players and first-year midgets.
“It’s a great honour to work with these men and women.”
Joining the Rope Rippers from the lakecity in the tournament were Mueller Red, the Jungle Team, the Blueberries and the Yellow Rubber Duckies.
Sixth place in the tournament went to Mueller Red after a loss to the Kamloops Renegades in the battle for fifth and sixth, seventh went to the Rubber Duckies after they fought off Quesnel, and ninth and 10th went to the Jungle Team and the Blueberries, respectively.
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