The host association is expected to take a serious run at its second championship in four years when the 34th annual Richmond Bantam Midget International Tournament gets underway Saturday at arenas throughout the city.
It was back in 2011 when the Richmond Blues ended a 14-year drought to capture the Midget AAA/Tier One Division thanks to a perfect 7-0-0 record. Now, Richmond looks capable of reaching the top of the podium again with an impressive 8-3-1 record so far in Pacific Coast tier one league play that includes a 6-1-0 run over its last seven games.
Coach Glenn Wheeler’s squad opens play Saturday afternoon (5:30 pm) against the Alaska U18 Wolves at Minoru Arenas’ stadium rink. The Blues then play a pair of games Sunday at the Richmond Ice Centre’s forum rink against the Vancouver Thunderbirds (12:15 p.m.) and the Langley Eagles (5:15 p.m.). It was the Eagles who snapped the locals' six game win streak with a 3-2 win on Dec. 22.
Richmond takes on Prince George to close out round-robin play on Monday afternoon (3:45 p.m.) at Minoru.
The top four teams from the two divisions advance to the championship round which gets underway Tuesday afternoon.
In total, 49 teams will be doing battle over five days in five divisions — Major Midget, Midget AAA/Tier 1, Midget Tier 2, Bantam Tier 1 and Bantam Tier 2.
Richmond Minor will also have teams competing in Midget Tier 2 and Bantam Tier 2.
The Blues would have been a good bet to win the Bantam Tier 1 title but, instead, will be in the Interior for the Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament which recently moved to a New Year’s Eve launch date.
Under former UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic, who along with Wheeler are also the directors of hockey development for Richmond Minor, the Blues are one of the top teams in Pacific Coast Tier One play with a 7-2-3 record. It includes battling perennial powerhouse Burnaby Winter Club to a scoreless draw and a 3-2 loss to two-time defending provincial champion North Shore Winter Club.
The gold medal games for the Richmond International take place next Wednesday. The Minoru stadium rink will host three games — Midget Tier 2 (8:30 a.m.), Midget AAA/Tier One (11:15 a.m.) and Major Midget (2 p.m.) Both Bantam finals go at the Richmond Ice Centre — Bantam Tier 1 (8:30 a.m. Coliseum rink) and Bantam Tier 2 (8:30 a.m. Forum rink).
Icing…
A shift in the minor hockey landscape the past couple of years is reflected in the Major Midget Division that features two of the top teams from the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s Prep Division — Yale Academy and Okanagan Hockey Academy Red. Yale is undefeated in league play (15-0-1) while Okanagan Red are 11-2-1. The pair will get a steady diet of U.S. competition.
