In a rematch of last year's gold medal game, a pair of local rivals will do battle Thursday to open the B.C. Juvenile Hockey Championships.
The defending champion Richmond Blues will meet the host Seafair Islanders at 10: 30 a.m. at the Richmond Ice Centre to launch round-robin play. The championships also feature the Burnaby Winter Club, Nanaimo, Surrey and Winfield.
The tournament will then shift to the Minoru Arenas for games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The gold medal game goes at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a rough start has the Richmond Blues out of medal contention at the Provincial Midget A1 Championships in Kelowna.
The Blues dropped a 6-3 decision to Prince George on Sunday and also came up empty during a pivotal doubleheader on Monday, falling 5-2 to Kamloops and 3-1 to Kelowna.
It's better news so far for the Richmond Ravens as hosts of the Pee Wee Girls Provincial Championships.
The Ravens opened the seven team event with an impressive 6-1 victory over the Vancouver Island Royals, then cruised past Prince George 6-1. The hosts defeated Vernon 3-1 on Tuesday morning as well.
The tournament concludes Thursday with the championship game at 8 p.m. at Minoru.
