The North Shore Winter Club won the Gil Martin Memorial Peewee Tournament in Langley over the weekend.
They posted a convincing win of 10-3 when playing in the finals against Prince George.
Young Carson Wetsch scored four goals and had an assist while tournament MVP Macklin Celebrini made two goals and four assists in the win.
North Shore made it to the finals after beating the host Langley Eagles 6-3 with Hiroki Gojsic scoring twice for the local squad. Leading up to the finals, Langley had beat the Victoria team 6-2 and Ridge Meadows 6-3.
“The kids played hard and they played well,” tournament chairman Kevin Gallant said of the Langley hosts.
Prince George beat Juan de Fuca to earn its spot in the finals.
The tournament, started in 2005 in memory of a local coach and community booster, supports PuCKS, a local organization that helps kids in sports and academics. The tournament proceeds will mean almost $5,000 for PuCKS, Gallant added.
As well, the tournament includes the Dream Big jersey draws which are only open to the kids. The prizes were autographed jerseys from top players including Virtanen, Heinen, Severson, Price, Johansen, Byfuglien, and Byram.
“The kids’ eyes lit up like pinball machines,” when they saw the jerseys, noted Gallant.
The swag would not have been possible without help from NHLers Jake Virtanen and Rich Heinen, father of Bruins player Danton Heinen.
The organizers have big plans for the future of the Gil Martin tournament.
“We’re trying to grow the tournament,” Gallant said… “Our goal is to create a major hockey extravaganza in Langley.”
He said the tournament is organized by the parents of the Langley players and the aim is to increase the team numbers to 32 in the coming years “and really make a major event for the kids, an experience for the kids.”
One way to do that is to autograph the names of the players on the winning team on the tournament trophy.
