A feast of holiday hockey gets underway this afternoon when the Richmond Jets Minor Hockey Association host the 38th annual Richmond International Bantam Midget Hockey Tournament.
A total of 53 teams will be doing battle over the next six days for titles in five divisions. As usual, the tournament has attracted plenty of out-of-town teams including entries from California, Alaska, Arizona, Oregon and Washington State.
The RIBMHT’s Opening Ceremonies will take place on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Minoru Arenas’ stadium rink, followed by the day’s featured game — Richmond A1 Jets taking on the Alaska U18 AA Wolves at 7:30 p.m.
The four championship games will take place on Monday with the Bantam Tier Two and Tier Three finals being held at the Richmond Ice Centre at 10 a.m.
Minoru’s stadium rink will host the Midget Tier Three (8:30 a.m.), Midget Tier Two (11:15 a.m.) and Midget Tier One (2 p.m.) title games.
Here’s a rundown of this year’s participating teams:
Midget Tier One
Pool “A”: Alaska Wolves U18 AA, North Central Bobcats (Prince George), Surrey Thunder, South Delta Storm, Richmond Jets A1.
Pool “B”: Portland Junior Winterhawks A1, Juan de Fuca, Sno Kings U16, Chilliwack, Ridge Meadows Rustlers.
Pool “C”: Burnaby Minor, Anchorage North Stars, Saanich Braves, Nanaimo Clippers, Mission Stars.
Midget Tier Two
Pool “A”: Orange County U16 AA, Cloverdale Colts, Alaska Oilers, Valley Thnder, Richmond Jets A2.
Pool “B”: Arctic Lions U16, Portland Junior Winterhawks U18, Peninsula Eagles, Arizona Junior Devils, Sunshine Coast.
Midget Tier Three
Burnaby Minor, New West, Nanaimo Clippers, Surrey Thunder, Peninsula.
Bantam Tier Two
Pool “A”: Semiahmoo Ravens A2, Surrey Thunder A2, Peninsula Eagles, Alaska Oilers U14, California Golden Bears, Richmond Jets A2, Portland Junior Winterhawks.
Pool “B: Cowichan Valley Captials, North Delta A1, SSAC Inovation Physio Therapy, Surrey Thunder A1, Langley A2, Anaheim Junior Ducks, Alaska North Stars.
Bantam Tier Three
North Delta A2, Cloverdale Colts A3, Burnaby Minor A2, Saanich, Surrey Thunder A3, South Delta A2, Richmond Jets A3, Langley Eagles A4, Sno Kings Junior U14.
