Quesnel & District Minor Hockey Association held a Midget Rep Tier 2/3 tournament on the weekend (Oct. 26-28), with teams attending from across the region, including Smithers, Prince George, Williams Lake, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Salmon Arm and Terrace.
Terrace took top spot in the tournament, followed by Fort St. John and Salmon Arm.
Quesnel Thunder Midget coach Gord Salmons said the tournament was not the Quesnel team’s best showing.
“We went one and three and lost to three teams we should beat if we play to our abilities,” he said.
“We just weren’t focused on the hockey, and let games slip away from us.”
The Thunder lost to Prince George to finish last in the rankings. The team has 12 returning players and five new this season.
Salmons said despite the disappointing finish, there were some bright spots.
“There were moments when we hustled and went after pucks, so there were some positives and good things to work on moving forward. It’s a long season, and we are early into it,” he said.
Salmons said the team needs to remain patient and continue to work hard at practice to get their confidence up.
“We don’t necessarily need to be winning games yet, but we need to be competing hard as individuals and together as a team.”
He said they performed well at their ice-breaker tournament in Prince George at the very beginning of the season, but have been having a rough time since then.
“Sometimes it takes a while to click.”
Last season, Quesnel hosted the Midget Tier 2 Provincial Championships, with the local team taking attendees by surprise to place first. The team’s provincial banner was raised in West Fraser Centre on Friday evening (Oct. 26) to kick off the tournament.
Salmons said the banner raising was a great moment for the team and a nice start to the tournament, with some past players coming back for the event.
“They were excited. They’ve been asking ever since we won when it was going to happen. Hopefully it’ll stay for the guys to come back and look at and build on for future.”
READ MORE: Quesnel Thunder Midget Tier 2 Provincial Championship banner up in West Fraser Centre
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