The Sunshine Coast sent two teams to the Cactus Cup in Phoenix, Ariz., over the Jan. 15 weekend. The Atom team, coached by Brad Wingfield, Mike Lewis, Adam Cote and Eoin Ross, went undefeated in the round robin. The Atoms played in the A / Elite Division. With wins against the host Arizona Bobcats 7-0, Arizona Knights 3-1 and San Jose Jr. Sharks 6-2, they made it to the four-team semi-final. With an exciting game against the Tri City Blue Devils of Santa Rosa, Calif., who also went undefeated, the game was a back and forth affair. With the Blue Devils ahead and the goalie pulled, Oliver Tulk fought through two defenders, got knocked to the ice, got back up and sniped the tying goal with 20 seconds left in regular time. Rocky Nordvie scored the game winner in dramatic fashion in overtime.
The Atoms then faced local Seafair A1. They suffered a 7-0 loss, but carried their heads high knowing they faced a very good team and took home the silver medal. Oliver Tulk finished second in overall scoring with 10 goals in five games, Jonathan Ward finished in fourth with five goals and Charlie Dempster led the round robin with 0.960 save percentage in the tournament.
The Peewees, coached by Aaron Hamilton, Brad Wingfield, Mike Lewis and Adam Cote won all of their games in the round robin. The Peewees had wins over Arvada, Aspen and Green Mountain Falls, all teams from Colorado. They then went on to play New Mexico in the quarter-final. New Mexico held them to a 2-0 lead at the end of the second. The Blues picked up the pace in the third and went on to win the quarter-final 7-0.
In what would prove to be the Peewee Blues’ toughest game of the tournament, they were set to meet the North Shore Winter Club A3 team in the gold medal game. The Blues played an excellent team game against the North Shore, with four of the five goals coming from different players, and won the gold medal game by a final score of 5-0. Jaden Fodchuck finished atop the points leaderboard for the tournament with 16 goals and 20 points while Karson Partdridge led the goalies with a stingy one goal against.
This tournament was represented by teams from all over Western Canada and the United States. There were 101 teams and only 12 gold and 12 silver medals were given away. It was an extremely proud time for all the parents and players who attended and a great week in the sun. Both teams were model ambassadors for the Sunshine Coast and Canada with the finals being played on Martin Luther King Day.
