The Sunshine Coast Midget A Blues finished the season on a high note Monday night in Coquitlam, where they won the playoff banner and are set to head to Dawson Creek in two weeks for the provincial championships.
The Blues compiled a regular season record of 11-5-2 finishing second in flight 4, missing out on the league banner by only two points.
Midget-level hockey has a three-year age span and many teams are weighted heavily with older players. The Blues are at the other end of the spectrum with the majority of players being first year making this accomplishment even more impressive.
Through the playoff rounds they eliminated Semiahmoo and West Vancouver outscoring them 15-8 and earning them a spot in the Tier 3 Final Four Series.
The Blues finished third overall in Tier 3 and faced the two teams who finished above them, Whistler and Ridge Meadows, as well as Coquitlam who also had a very strong season.
The Blues handled Ridge Meadows with ease winning 5-2. They followed that up with a 3-0 shutout on the strength of solid goaltending by Ethan Hutton.
With the second win, they secured a spot in the provincials, but still needed to beat Coquitlam to bring the banner home.
Monday night they took on the Chiefs in a close battle edging them 5-4 with the game winner scored by Nevan Flay.
“So much of the success we’ve enjoyed this season can be attributed to the extraordinary resilience and determination by every player on this team to succeed,” said head coach Brian McAllister. “The identity of the team was forged early in the season when we rolled through a rough and fast paced tournament in Merritt. Winning five straight games including three come from behind wins to become tournament winners. From that time on the belief in themselves as a real team never wavered.
“It’s been a pleasure and honor to coach this group and that continues as we work towards our next challenge, which is to have great showing and hopefully victory at the upcoming provincials.”
To help with fundraising efforts, there will be a rally for the team this Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m. at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre, where the Blues will take to the ice in an attempt to beat the coaches’ team headed by their trainer Curtis Munson. The public is invited to come out and show their support!
To make a donation to the teams’ travel fund email Brenda Rowe: [email protected].
