It never gets old for Steve Robinson.
The longtime Seafair Minor Hockey head coach was back in the winner’s circle at the association’s 15th annual Rep Icebreaker Tournament — this time leading the Bantam A1s to a perfect record over the four-day event, including a thrilling 3-2 shootout win against Langley in Monday’s final.
A year ago, Robinson guided the Bantam A2s to Icebreaker gold and came ever-so-close to leading the Midget A1s to their fifth consecutive title. This time, he has reduced his Seafair bench duties for good reason after being named head coach of the Richmond Sockeyes last spring.
Overseeing a junior hockey team is more than enough on any coach’s plate but not for Robinson. He has been been able to continue his commitment to Seafair after being convinced to take on the association’s top team of 13-and-14-year-olds.
He has a veteran group that includes a number of players he worked with last season in A2. The Islanders rolled through round-robin play with wins over Cloverdale (8-2), Kamloops (3-1) and the Victoria Racquet Club (4-3), before blanking Everett 5-0 in Monday morning’s semi-final.
Langley also went undefeated, setting the stage for an intriguing gold medal game between two teams destined for the top tier of Pacific Coast Amateur regular season play.
“It lived up to its billing honestly. I thought we played great in the first, lost our way a little bit in the second by turning over the puck a lot and (goalie) Dylan (Tsang) played great,” said Robinson. “I told the guys in the third to just play one solid period. It wasn’t perfect, but it never is. You just need to make plays.”
With the score tied at 1-1 the Islanders staved off penalty trouble before Langley finally solved Tsang. However, the hosts would answer not long after on a goal by Ethan Riesterer. Both teams had good chances to end the drama in regulation and the four-on-four five-minute overtime period.
Seafair took control of the shootout from the outset when Tsang turned away the first Langley attempt and Riesterer scored. Tsang then made another save, setting the stage for Jaden Uy’s clinching goal.
“It’s a good start to the year. Working with 13-and-14-year-olds, I always tell my Sockeye guys these kids are young, hungry and focused. The exact opposite of you,” chuckled Robinson. “They always get a laugh out of it.
“I run a lot of the same stuff I do there and these kids don’t question me on anything. They just do exactly what I say. It gives me more energy for what I enjoy doing and they are right into it which is fun.”
Robinson is making sure his team is good and battle tested.
The Islanders ave already played exhibition games against the Delta Hockey Academy and St. George’s Bantam prep teams. The latter is coached by former Seafair Hockey Director Yogi Svejkovsky.
Upcoming tournaments include the Victoria Racquet Club and Burnaby Minor’s Pat Quinn Classic over the holidays.
Seafair’s other title came in Pee Wee Tier One where the Islanders capped an unbeaten record with a 9-2 win over Richmond Minor.
It could be one of the final chapters in the long-time rivalry with a highly-anticipated vote to merge the two local associations slated for later this month.
Seafair got past the Vancouver Thunderbirds 4-1 in the semi-finals and produced earlier wins over North Delta (10-0), North Vancouver (7-0) and the Thunderbirds (5-2). Richmond Minor locked up a spot in the final with a 6-5 win against Juan de Fuca, avenging an earlier one goal loss to the Island squad.
Seafair teams settled for silver in the Atom Tier One and Tier Two Divisions. The A1s were doubled 4-2 by Cloverdale in what was their only loss of the weekend. The A2s dropped a 5-1 decision to Sannich.
Other Division winners included: Vancouver Thunderbirds (Midget Tier One), Seattle (Midget Tier Two). Yellowknife (Bantam Tier Two) and Langley (Pee Wee Tier Two).
