Local Sports

A great season ended on a sour note for Sechelt's David Arduin. Arduin and the Campbell River Storm lost the best-of-three Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) championship series to the Victoria Cougars last weekend.

If the first two games of the men's A-division hockey final are any indication, hockey fans are guaranteed some excitement this weekend.

The top 50 high school mountain bikers in the province, many of them from the Sunshine Coast and the North Shore, were in Squamish last weekend to take part in a special two-day riding camp with several Canadian national team members.

The Inlet Raiders and Midway Power/Grasshopper Pub Hitmen will battle for the men's A-division title after their respective first round series last week.

The year-end men's soccer tournament took place last weekend, as the eight teams scrambled through the muck at rain-soaked Ted Dixon Memorial Park.

The Midget C1 House squad captured the playoff banner with a 3-1 win over Hollyburn last Saturday in Squamish.

The Midway Power/Grass-hopper Pub Hitmen and Inlet Raiders drew first blood in their respective playoff series last Saturday at the Sunshine Coast Arena. The Hitmen edged the Roberts Creek Rangers 5-2 while the Raiders beat the Suncoast Flyers 7-1.

The Chat boys saved their best for last, finishing the season on a high note last Saturday in Kamloops. Chat beat J.L. Crowe from Trail 68-37 to finish 15th out of 16 teams at the 2005 AA boys provincial basketball championships.

The Gibsons Pigs men's rugby club returned to the pitch in style on Saturday, picking up a win at home. On Saturday, the Pigs edged Ridge Meadows 15-7 at Cougar Field. With the win, Gibsons improved its second half record to 2-2.

The Chatelech Eagles' hopes for a top eight finish at the 2005 AA boys' high school basketball championships were dashed Wednesday morning.