Richmond Bantam A2 Blues captured the Coquitlam Bantam “A” Remembrance Day Challenge thanks to a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks in the championship game.
The Blues took a 1-0 lead into the late stages of the third period when they were awarded a penalty shot. Kyle Gounder made a great move to his left but the puck unfortunately bounced and he was unable to take advantage. After the ensuing face-off, the Winterhawks scored on a breakaway with just over two minutes left.
To begin overtime, the teams played three aside as penalties were being served. Richmond’s Josh Freeland came out of the penalty box 22 seconds into the extra session to put his team on the power play. Soon after, Andrey Krasniperov set up a beautiful one-timer to Freeland for the victory — sending the players and fans into a frenzy.
The Blues’ road to the final included earlier wins over North Shore Winter Club (3-0), Cloverdale (5-3) and Juan De Fuca (5-0), while battling Sunshine Coast to a 1-1 draw.
The team also includes: Markus Angelas, Owen Coelho, Sean Eagles, Jacob Ferrigno, Christopher Harcourt, Caleb Hohlweg, Austin Kobayashi, Kyle Kwok, Jake Lancaster, Chad Lore, Vik Randhawa, Tanner Roberts, Brendan Sadhra, and Jarred Wong. The coaches are: Mike Ikeda, Brian Busenius, Richard Wong, Steve Eagles and Steve Freeland. The managers are: Tammy Hohlweg, and Kelly Freeland.
