Tony Lindsay might feel like a kid in a candy store when it comes to guiding the Richmond Bantam “A” Ravens.
The veteran coach has led a number of outstanding boys and girls teams in Richmond over the years — long enough to know he has something special with this group that put on a show this past weekend at their own 4th annual Pacific Coast Female Rep Hockey Classic.
The high-flying Ravens capped an unbeaten run with a 4-2 victory over rival Tri-City Predators in Sunday’s championship game at the Olympic Oval.
It’s not even November and this team is already in outstanding form with several notable wins.
In exhibition play, they defeated Seafair’s Pee Wee A1 boys team (4-1), blasted the Okanagan Hockey Academy (10-0) and tied the Fraser Valley Rush of the B.C. Female Midget AAA Hockey League 1-1.
It’s no wonder Lindsay is going outside of the province to find more challenges for his girls. The Ravens are headed to Toronto in early December for the prestigious 2 Nations Cup College Prep Series where they will see top teams from both sides of the border in the U14 Division.
The highlight of the Rep Classic was Sunday morning’s encounter with the St. Albert Raiders — one of the top ranked teams in Alberta. The hosts entered their final round-robin game with a spot in the final looking likely but took no chances. They skated to a well-earned 3-2 victory — knocking the Raiders out of championship contention in the process.
The Ravens’ impressive team speed and puck handling was on full display in their ever-dangerous transition game. They also gave St. Albert fits with their high-pressure forechecking and ability to cycle the puck.
Their games have been regularly attracting scouts from Midget AAA and Academy programs.
“Our girls are doing some neat stuff and they are an exciting group to watch” marveled Linsday who has a near split of first and second year players. “The St. Albert coach told me how impressed he was and the girls have been doing that fairly consistently.
“It’s so early in the season to be playing at this level and the exciting thing is they are only going to get better.”
The Ravens opened the tournament by playing Kelowna to a 3-3 tie, then began to take flight with wins over Tri-City (7-2) and South Island (10-1).
The team includes: Goalies Janaka Shahi and Brynn Waisman, along with Paige Pfortmueller, Mackenzie Johnston, Lauren Mackay, Sara Bourdon, Caleigh Wong, Jaden Cherry, Ashley Morrow, Tamryn Ward, Nicole Soon, Jessi Soon, Emily Dragicevic, Annalise Wong, Jenny Andrash, Katie Chan and Jamie Grinder.
Rounding out the coaching staff are Tony Wong, Jeff Morrow and Derek Cherry. Rob Chan is the team manager.
Other division winners at the Rep Classic included Tri-City Predators (Pee Wee) and South Island Royals (Midget).
