It has taken little time for the Pacific Coast Female Rep Hockey Classic to establish itself as a premier destination for out-of-town teams.
In just its third year, the Richmond Ravens-hosted event will have representation from Alaska, Washington State and Vancouver Island.
The Classic gets underway Friday and concludes on Sunday, with the bulk of games at the Richmond Olympic Oval. It features three age divisions — Midget, Bantam and Pee Wee.
The Ravens are the defending provincial champions at the Midget and Bantam levels.
“Five of the six Midget teams are from outside the Lower Mainland and four of the six in Bantam too,” said tournament director Christine Soon. “Unfortunately we have had to turn some teams away with these age groups, while Pee Wee seems to go up and down with each year.”
What the Rep Hockey Classic has going for it is being a tournament that strictly caters to elite programs.
The perks include playing three 20-minute stop time periods with full intermissions and ice cleans.
Teams are also guaranteed four round-robin games and the chance to play a fifth in Sunday afternoon’s division finals.
The Ravens added the Rep Classic to compliment their popular and long-running Ice Classic which typically concludes the girls hockey season during spring break in March.
“We have our Ice Classic which is enormous, but there is always a void of rep teams because provincials are right around the same time,” explained Ravens president David Pfortmueller.
“This is focused on completely being a rep tournament. It’s basically run just like provincials. There are lots of girls tournaments all season long but this is the only one I am aware of that is rep focused for elite teams. We like people to show up to this tournament knowing they are going to get great competition but not knowing their opponents. Christine has done a fabulous job putting this altogether and attracting these teams.”
What also enhances the Rep Hockey Classic’s reputation is having almost the entire tournament hosted at the Oval. The Ravens can thank the efforts of former Bantam A coach Tony Lindsay for that.
He worked alongside Soon for the event’s inaugural year and managed to secure both sheets at the Oval on an annual basis.
“Playing at the Oval is a great opportunity for the visiting teams and for us to showcase Richmond and the legacy the Olympics have left us,” agreed Pfortmueller. “It’s a fabulous facility that is unique around the world. We are bringing in people from outside of the area to enjoy it, knowing the fact there were Olympic athletes who trained and competed here.”
There will also be plenty to do off the ice for visiting players, coaches and parents including hockey-related seminars that will take place at the Oval.
While the spotlight is on rep hockey this weekend, Pfortmueller is quick to point out all Ravens’ programs are strong as ever as he begins his first season as club president after serving the past six years on the executive.
“The vast majority of our participants are in our house program,” he added. “All our teams are doing well with strong coaching staffs in place for every one of them.
“One of the things we are rolling out this season is a mentoring program between the younger and older kids to get them more involved. Hopefully, it will create a legacy of female coaches in the future for the next generation of players.”
The third annual Pacific Coast Female Rep Hockey Classic concludes Sunday with the Pee Wee Final (1:30 p.m. Oval North), Bantam Final (1:45 p.m. Oval South) and Midget Final (4 p.m. Oval North).
