The Pacific Coast Female Rep Hockey Classic delivered as promise — producing champions from Alberta, Washington State and the host association.
Organizers from the Richmond Ravens Female Hockey Association have worked diligently to make the three-day event a destination tournament for out-of-town teams. The end result was creating some match-ups that may not be seen again for the balance of the season.
Case in point was a fiercely competitive six-team Bantam Division that featured intense games from start-to-finish. Standing at the end was reigning Alberta champions Edmonton Lightning who got past the host and B.C. champion Ravens in the final.
Here’s a rundown of the three divisions:
■ Pee Wee: Ravens dominate to win gold
If there is such a thing as veteran savvy 12-year-olds then the Richmond Ravens just might be it. After knocking on the door last season, the hosts kicked it in with authority — capping a dominating tournament run with a 4-1 victory over the Tri-City Predators in Sunday’s final.
Richmond outscored its four opponents 29-1 in route to the gold medal game, thanks to a balanced line-up that is loaded with nothing but second-year players.
“We are very lucky to have nine forwards who all can play at a high level. This is a very deep team,” said Ravens head coach Mitch Ward. “Sure we have a top line but, if it wasn’t for the name and numbers on the back of the jerseys, you wouldn’t be able to tell.”
Ward has been working with almost all of these players since they started their journey through the Ravens hockey program nearly eight years ago. After missing out on a provincial berth last season, the girls are hungry to reach the showcase tournament in March and eager to learn.
“They are at the point where we are now introducing them systems and they are embracing them,” added Ward. “We are keeping the puck in the opponent’s zone for long periods at a time.
“We had only played a couple of games going into the tournament so it was a good chance to see where we are and how we stack up against some of the better teams.”
The Ravens will once again be heading to a tournament in San Jose in early January.
They are defending champions at the U12 level, however, Ward is contemplating playing in the U14 Division to test his girls even further.
■ Bantam: Alberta champs prevail
The world of girls rep hockey can be small enough for a Lower Mainland coach to have full knowledge of his opponent from Alberta.
Ravens’ coach Tracy Warren was all too familiar with the Edmonton Lightning, having coached many of their players on a spring hockey travel team.
His own Richmond squad produced four hard fought victories to reach the championship game, including a 1-0 triumph over Edmonton.
The Lightning would avenge its only loss of the weekend, striking for a pair of early goals in the final and holding off the Ravens the rest of the way.
Still, it was a very promising showing for the defending B.C. champs who have just four returning players and are mostly first-year Bantams.
“A team like the Lightning is a AAA program with a $100,000 budget,” said Warren, who is in his first-season at this level after coaching the Ravens Atom rep team last year. “For us to be competing with these big AAA programs is very encouraging. I’m very pleased with how the weekend went with such a young team.”
The Bantam Ravens will be heading to a tournament in Kamloops in three weeks where they are looking forward to a potential rematch with South Island. The locals dominated the Victoria area squad two weeks earlier in Kelowna but had to settle for silver thanks to some spectacular goaltending.
■ Midget: Rare Ravens podium miss
Some paper work is about the only thing that can slow down what’s shaping up to be another big season for the Midget Ravens.
For the first time in at least five years, the locals didn’t make the final of a Richmond tournament — whether it be the Rep or Ice Classic.
The locals produced wins over Kamloops Junior Blazers (4-1) and North Island Impact (3-2), before being tripped up 6-3 by eventual champion Washington State Wild. The South Island Royals kept the Ravens out of the gold medal game but playing them to a 2-2 tie on Sunday morning.
“We needed beat them by a certain number of goals and also needed a result from the other game taking place at the same time,” said Ravens longtime coach AJ Sander. “We are off to a bit of a slow start this season. There were some rule changes and we ended up having to cancel a whole bunch of exhibition games because we had players that weren’t eligible to play yet.
“At this point of the season we have usually played about 20 games. Right now we are at 10, so we are basically a month behind.”
When the Ravens do get up to full speed, they should be favoured to win their fourth B.C. title in five years. Under Sander, the Ravens have qualified for the provincials for eight straight seasons. His roster features a whopping 16 returning players.
The Ravens’ will be heading to Whitby, Ontario in December for their annual out-of-province tournament.
