A trio of host teams came through with first place finishes at Seafair Minor Hockey’s 12th annual Sandman Hotel Ice Breaker Rep Tournament.
The Islanders Midget A1, Pee Wee A1 and Atom A2 teams will take plenty of momentum into the upcoming Pacific Coast regular season after capturing their respective divisions in the four-day event, held over the Thanksgiving Weekend at the Richmond Ice Centre.
The Atom A2 Islanders got off to a rocky start before battling their way back into contention and eventually avenging their only blemish of tournament.
After dropping a 6-1 decision to the North Shore Winter Club on Friday, Seafair rebounded with a 10-2 victory over Whitehorse and battled Juan de Fuca to a 2-2 draw.
That set-up a semi-final rematch with the Vancouver Island squad and this time the locals prevailed 2-1. Meanwhile, North Shore Winter Club cruised to the championship game, having outscored its opponents by a whopping 39-6 margin. However, Seafair came up with a huge defensive effort in a 3-0 victory. Juan de Fuca took third place with a 6-3 win over Whitehorse.
The Islanders proved why they were one of the pre-tournament favourites in the Pee Wee A1 Division by producing five straight victories en route to the title.
Seafair captured its round-robin group with wins over Seattle (4-1), Langley (6-0) and Juan de Fuca (7-3). The locals then defeated a strong South Delta Storm team 4-1 in the semi-finals on Monday morning, before dismantling previously unbeaten Kelowna 7-0 in the championship game.
It was similar domination for the Islanders in the Midget Tier One Division. The hosts locked up a semi-final berth with wins over Seattle (8-2), Juan de Fuca (6-2) and South Delta (7-2).
Seafair then doubled Surrey 4-2 in the semi-finals before defeating Juan de Fuca by the same score in the gold medal game on Monday afternoon.
It was nearly four titles for the host association as Seafair settled for silver in the Pee Wee Tier Two competition after falling 3-0 to Langley in the title game.
It was the team’s only loss of the tournament after earlier round-robin wins over Juan de Fuca (4-1), Nanaimo (4-0) and Seattle (8-0), before a 6-2 semi-final triumph over Campbell River.
The Islanders’ bid to reach the Bantam Tier One championship game ended with a 6-0 loss to eventual champion Seattle in the semi-finals.
Seafair had earned a final four berth by going 1-1-1 in round-robin play, including a 3-2 win over Vancouver Minor. The Isles also played Nanaimo to a 3-3 draw and dropped a 5-2 decision to North Delta.
In Atom A1 play, Seafair’s championship run ended with a 6-2 semi-final loss to eventual winner Nanaimo. The same two teams met to open the tournament with the Island squad prevailing 5-3.
Seafair rebounded with a 6-5 win over Phoenix, before being trimmed 2-1 by Juan de Fuca.
The Islanders also reached the semi-finals in the Bantam Tier Two division before falling 6-2 to eventual champion Whitehorse.
The hosts had gone unbeaten in round-robin play with wins over Saanich and Seattle, while playing to a 4-4 draw with Alberni Valley.
In Midget Tier Two play, Saanich took top honours with a 6-3 win over Kelowna in the final. Seafair dropped games to Seattle (5-4), Surrey (4-3), Saanich (8-1) and Kent Valley (4-2).
