It was a breakthrough performance at the Canadian Ball Hockey Association’s Western Challenge Cup in Victoria for the Richmond Warriors.
The U17 squad not only became the first-ever Richmond team to reach the podium but strike gold as well after a 3-1 victory over Saskatchewan in the championship game on July 15.
Richmond took a 1-0 lead in the late stages of the first period with a goal by Ben Kraemar and added to advantage in the final period with a goal by Shaan Bal.
Team Saskatchewan fought back and made it a 2-1 score with six minutes left, but Richmond held off Saskatchewan’s push with timely saves from Ajeet Gundarah and got an empty net goal by Alexander Hodgkinson in the final minute to seal the championship.
Richmond had advanced with a 2-1 overtime win over Delta in the semi-finals a day earlier. The road to the title also included round-robin victories against Victoria (2-1), Saskatchewan (2-0) and Ridge Meadows (4-2).
Coach Ben Barnes says the team got better with every game they played and came together at the right time. Nicholas Sebellin led the tournament in assists with six and Chad Lore and Alexander Hodgkinson led the team in goals with four each.
