It’s minor hockey galore for the next four days at the Richmond Ice Centre and beyond with 43 teams in town for the 39th edition of the Richmond Bantam Midget International Hockey Tournament.
The event gets underway this morning and wraps up with the four divisional finals on Monday evening at Minoru Arenas and Richmond Ice Centre. As usual the tourney features a terrific assortment of teams, including representation from six US states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
Four teams from the host Richmond Jets Minor Hockey Association will be looking for glory on home ice.
In the 14-team Midget AAA Division, Richmond will square off against Nanaimo, Chilliwack, 16AA Junior Ducks and Surrey in round-robin play, hoping to secure one of four quarter-final berths up for grabs in its division. The semi-finals take place on Monday morning and the championship game goes later that night (7:45 p.m.) at Minoru.
The Jets enter the tourney with a 6-7-1 record in Pacific Coast Amateur’s Tier One Flight.
The Midget AA Division is the largest of the tournament, featuring 17 teams. Richmond is slated to play Semiahmoo, North Vancouver, Peninsula and Cloverdale in round-robin play.
The hosts will need a top two finish in their group to advance to the championship bracket. The Midget AA final takes place at 5 p.m. on Monday at Minoru.
The Jets sit at 2-11-1 in PCAHA’s Tier Three Flight.
The Bantam AAA Division features six teams with the Jets battling Wenatchee, South Delta, North Delta and Mission in round-robin play — looking to secure a berth in the semi-finals. The title game goes Monday night (8 p.m.) at RIC’s Forum Rink.
The Jets are 4-8-2 in PCAHA Tier One Flight play.
Richmond is the defending champion in the Bantam AA Division and the hosts are enjoying another impressive season with a 6-1-1 in PCAHA Tier Three Flight play. The Jets will battle Semiahmoo, Arizona and Cowichan Valley in preliminary play for the six team division. The final goes on Monday (5:45 p.m.) at the RIC Forum Rink.
