The Atom Rep Blues solidified their third place standing following a thrilling 2-2 home ice tie against the North Shore Winter Club last Sunday morning in Gibsons.
The Blues sit with a record of 12-4-2 after 18 games (behind Seafair and Richmond), with nine sportsmanship points. In Atom A, one sportsmanship point is awarded in a game with three or fewer minor penalties.
In Sunday's game, Kolton Cousins scored both goals for the Blues, returning to the line-up after being out with the flu.
One assist went to Élan Kimpton-Cuellar. Austin Fournier, Ben Fischer and Liam DeRoon had some good chances, but couldn't put it past the North Shore goalie, while Blues goalie Geo Wilson made some nice saves to keep it close.
The Blues host West Vancouver this Sunday morning at the Sunshine Coast Arena in Sechelt in the team's last home game before the playoffs, which start Feb. 10.
In tournament action, the Blues won gold in Victoria over Christmas.
The squad was in tough against stiff competition, including several teams from the U.S.
After winning their first game, the Blues faced a tough team from Saanich.
Down by three goals in the period, Jaden Fodchuck scored two goals in a minute to bring the Blues to within one. Kolton Cousins then tied the score the following shift and the teams remained tied.
The dramatics didn't end there, as Saanich was awarded a penalty shot at the end of the third period, but Geo made a stellar save to preserve the thrilling tie game.
The Blues won their third and fourth games - the fourth game against a team from Everett, Wash.
The teams were re-placed for the playoffs, pitting the Blues against Saanich again. The Blues left everything out on the ice, picking up a 5-1 win and the tournament title.
Bantam Blues
It was an exciting weekend of hockey for the Bantam Rep Blues.
Last Saturday, Jan. 28, they travelled to Chilliwack, picking up an easy 5-0 win.
Still high from this victory, they came into their home game Sunday afternoon with plenty of fire, aiming for another win over the Vancouver Spirit team.
In the first minute, Myles Killackey scored to set the pace of the first period, which the Blues dominated. Halfway through the period, the Blues found themselves on the penalty kill, but goalie Jalin Kimpton-Cuellar made two key saves that kept the Blues in the lead.
Early in the second period, a nice feed from Kyle Bergh sent Justin Macey in on a breakaway. Justin, who moved up to wing from his usual spot on defence for this game, took a shot from five metres out and beat the goalie blocker-side.
Less than 30 seconds later, defenceman Keynon Brown took a slapshot from 10 metres out and beat the goalie top shelf to give the Blues a three-goal lead.
However, Vancouver was not about to go down that easily. Fifteen seconds later, they scored blocker-side to make the game 3-1. With eight minutes to go in the period, they scored again to bring it to 3-2. Late in the second period, the Blues took several penalties, which threw them off their stride. Vancouver scored on the power play with 28 seconds left, tying up the game.
Ten seconds into the third period, Vancouver scored to take the lead. Shortly afterward, a tripping call in front of the net gave Vancouver a penalty shot, but Jalin made a huge save that boosted the Blues' confidence going into the remainder of the game.
The Blues gained a power play four minutes into the period after a kneeing call on Jake Savage, who quickly took advantage of the situation by tying up the game with a backhand top-corner shot on the goalie's blocker side.
Vancouver soon took another penalty, but the Blues could not capitalize on the power play this time. Jalin made a great glove save with 3:25 left on the clock, ensuring the Blues could retain their 4-4 tie.
The Blues have had an excellent season and are in a position to win the banner for their division if they continue to play as well in their final three games and retain their sportsmanship points.
