A trio of Surrey hockey players – and one assistant coach – are national champions after the junior ‘B’ Richmond Sockeyes captured the Keystone Cup this week in St. Malo, Man.
The Sockeyes won the title Sunday with a 5-2 win over the Saskatoon Royals and among those celebrating the team’s victory were forwards Jake Roder, Stephen Campbell and Dean Allison, as well as assistant coach Ron Paterson, a South Surrey businessman and former owner of the Surrey Eagles.
“We had a lot of guys in our room, who in some cases have played together since minor hockey and a longtime friends,” said Sockeyes head coach Aaron Wilbur. “It was great to see them complete their junior hockey careers in such a way. It’s really cool.”
In recent years, the Sockeyes have had strong connections to Surrey. When the team won the Keystone Cup in 2009, eight players – nearly a third of the team’s roster – hailed from Surrey, including Roder, who was a rookie on that squad.
– with files from Richmond Review
