Richmond Minor Bantam A2 Blues ended an outstanding season in fitting fashion — capturing their third tournament of the campaign, this time in Squamish.
After earlier wins in Coquitlam and Portland, the Blues headed north on the Sea-to-Sky Highway looking for further success. The competition would be tough with teams like rival Seafair Bantam A2 also a strong contender for gold.
The team started out strong with a 5-2 victory over West Vancouver.
The next two games saw the Blues struggle and drop both, including a heartbreaking result against Squamish. The hosts netted the winner with just 15 seconds remaining.
The Blues have proven they can win in the playoffs when the pressure is on. They simply keep calm and carry on. Coach Mike Ikeda had complete faith in his squad to run the table and win all of the remaining games.
Richmond dominated the Calgary Saints 5-3 in a very physical must win game.
The Blues then faced a confident Vancouver Spirit team which finished first overall in the round-robin standings. They produced a 3-2 nail-biter and were set to take on their cross town rival Seafair A2 or the Squamish Eagles.
The hosts upset Seafair and the Blues were set for a re-match against the hometown team and their many supporters. The game was tied 3-3 going into the third when the Blues scored jumped in front and later added an empty net goal.
They proved again they are a playoff team that can perform under pressure.
The roster includes: Austin Kobayashi, Brendan Sandra, Caleb Hohlweg, Chad lore, Chris Harcourt, Jacob Ferrigno, Jake Lancaster, Jarred Wong, Josh Freeland, Kyle Gounder, Kyle Kwok, Marcus Angeles, Sean Eagles, Tanner Roberts, Ryu Watanabe, Justin Grimm, Mattias Wong.
The coaching staff also features Brian Busenius and Richard Wong.
