The game was hard hitting, fast paced and entertaining - everything you want in a playoff hockey game.
The Sunshine Coast Arena was rocking Monday night as the Sunshine Coast Midget House C1 and C2 squads played for bragging rights in a playoff thriller. The lead changed hands several times before the teams skated to a 3-3 draw.
The C2 squad opened the scoring as Taylor Fancher roofed a great shot over goalie Ty Dempster from just inside the circle five minutes into the game. Lance Morgan picked up the lone assist.
The C2 team carried the play for the better part of the first period until Dustin Christmas found an opening and slid home the tying goal past goalie Morgan Walker with two minutes to go in the period.
Momentum continued to stay with the C1 squad as they took a 2-1 lead early in the second period as Dustin scored his second of the contest. Jeremy Bell picked up the only assist.
With three minutes to play in the second, the C2 squad tied the game as Matt McLennan scored with assists going to Duncan Cameron and Mike Holm.
The score remained tied until seven minutes into the third, when momentum shifted back to the C1 team. Assistant captain Darren Bergnach scored with assists going to Dustin and Justin Brown. The C1 squad held the one-goal lead and looked as if they would hang on, but Mike Leibing scored with four minutes to go in the game to preserve the tie. Andrew Lamb picked up the assist.
"It was a great night for hockey," said C1 coach Nick Bergnach. "It shows how well balanced the two teams are. Mike Yarrow did a great job officiating. He let the kids play, and both teams put on a good show."
C2 coach Mark Holm echoed Bergnach's take on the game.
"It was hard hitting, clean hockey," Holm said. "It was exciting, and both teams gave it their all. It was nice to see the arena full too. There were lots of fans at the game who had no affiliation with either team. They just came to watch some hockey and the kids put on a good show."
Both Midget House teams remain undefeated in the playoffs.
On the weekend, the C1 team edged Whistler 4-3.
Jared Turner scored twice while Chris Hamilton and Spencer Williams added singles. The C1 team heads to the North Shore Winter Club on Sunday.
The C2 team is 1-0-2 in the playoffs so far. They head to Hollyburn on Saturday and entertain Whistler Sunday at 3:45 p.m.Bantam RepThe Bantam Rep Blues split a pair last weekend in playoff action. On Friday night, the Bantams beat West Vancouver 5-1 in a single game elimination with the winner advancing to the round robin series.
The Blues carried the play from beginning to end in a game that was "not wonderfully played" according to head coach Randy Younghusband.
"The play was often scrambly, but we capitalized on our chances," he said.
Cam Graham scored a pair of goals while Jesse Ostrosky, Brandon Kohuch and Michael Gray added singles. Assists went to Michael with two, Jesse and Brady Bjornson.
Sunday's game against Aldergrove was game one of a four-point series with the winner moving on and the loser of the series dropping down into the President's Cup round robin playoffs.
Aldergrove is two tiers above the Blues, but the locals hung tough despite losing 8-0.
"We played well. We skated with them for two periods and, in fact, we probably outplayed them in the first period," Younghusband said. "Mike had several good chances and Brandon had a great chance to open the scoring, but we failed to capitalize. Aldergrove had the puck luck and were able to get the first two goals. Both were low percentage shots that deflected off our defencemen's sticks."
In the second period, Aldergrove had the better scoring chances, but Blues' goalie Kyle Trousdell kept his team in the game, turning away several high-quality scoring chances.
"Aldergrove scored their third goal after Kyle's stick shattered and he was beat by a low shot," Younghusband said. "In the third period, we did a poor job of maintaining our patience. Our positional play deteriorated and we did a poor job of using our teammates. The end result was Aldergrove taking advantage and tacking on five more goals.
"Overall, I am proud of our team's effort. They were quick to pick up the pace and compete with Aldergrove. Unfortunately we could not maintain it for three periods. I was also impressed with our first year players, who were relentless in their pursuit of the puck despite playing a much larger and physical Aldergrove team. They got hit but never quit."
The series with Aldergrove continues this weekend.
Peewee RepThe Peewee Rep Blues opened the playoffs with a convincing 7-2 win last Wednesday in Port Coquitlam.
Matt Brown led the way with three goals. Timo Antilla scored his first goal of the season.
"The team worked hard and played a strong game," said coach Brent Parker.
The Peewees continue playoff action this weekend with a home game on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. and a road game in Squamish on Sunday.
