No team that has hosted B.C. Hockey's Provincial Juvenile Championships has won until now as the Richmond Blues' dynasty lives on.
The Blues made it five consecutive B.C. titles with a decisive 6-1 victory over North Delta on March 23 at Minoru Arenas.
Richmond's triumph was hardly a surprise but it took plenty of work and a little help to get there. The regular season champions came out flat in a 4-2 opening game loss to North Delta. The hosts then climbed back into contention with solid wins over Coquitlam (4-1) and Langley (6-0). Surrey then handed them a heartbreaking 5-4 loss, notching the winner with just 23 seconds remaining. However, the spoiler proved to be Juan De Fuca as the Island squad produced ties against Coquitlam and Surrey, opening the door for the Blues to clinch second and earn a rematch with unbeaten North Delta.
The gold medal game was tied at 1-1 after the opening period with Taylor McElwain scoring for Richmond from Corey Tasaka. The Blues then took control in the middle stanza on goals by Mike Avery, Jeremy Chiang and Jon Szeplabi. Earning the assists were Justin Degraauw, Connor Martyniuk, Trevor Lum, captain Mark Pearlman and Degraauw.
Goalie Chris Clute remained solid between the pipes as his team added two more goals in the third - Avery from Tyler Bognar, and Devon Lung, unassisted.
Rounding out the roster are Troy Kaczynski, Adam Enns, Brandon Minhas, Ryan Hait, goalie James Guichon and affiliates Evan Thomas, Adam Gilker, Jeremy White and Ryan Hart.
Coaches Maurice and Richard Hamlin would like to thank the sponsors and the many RMHA volunteers who tirelessly made the BC Juvenile Provincials such a special event for all the participants. They are extremely proud of their players' determination to bring home the banner for Richmond Minor Hockey.
