The Langley bantam A5 Eagles will go for the gold at the B.C. provincial tier 4 hockey championships in Houston.

The Langley bantam A5 Eagles will go for the gold at the B.C. provincial tier 4 hockey championships in Houston.

‘Workmanlike’ effort leads Eagles to victory

Langley bantam A5 hockey team earns berth to upcoming provincial championships

It was a workmanlike effort which paid huge dividends for the Langley bantam A5 Eagles as they are off to the B.C. provincial tier 4 championships.

“We were shorthanded and it was just an unbelievable team effort,” said coach Kevin Qualtrough.

“They just battled.”

The Eagles were playing in the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association final four championships. They were up against the Langley A4 Eagles, the Abbotsford A4 Hawks and the Semiahmoo A5 Ravens.

The tournament was held at the George Preston Recreation Centre and the Langley Sportsplex March 1 to 5.

At stake was a spot in the provincial championships, which will be held in Houston from March 17 to 21.

The Eagles beat Abbotsford 6-3 in their first game, but lost the battle of Langley 2-1 in their second game. They closed with a 5-2 win over Semiahmoo.

That left both Langley teams and Abbotsford with identical 2-1 round robin records, but thanks to a plus-five goal differential, it was the A5 Eagles who captured the banner to advance to provincials.

Qualtrough was impressed with his team’s performance in the playoffs, especially considering they were down four bodies.

But some timely goal scoring, good defence and stellar goaltending put the team over the top.

Langley Times