At least a pair of teams from the host association remain in championship contention as the 39th annual Richmond Bantam Midget International Hockey Tournament hits the playoff rounds.
The Richmond Midget A1 Jets held off the Surrey Thunder 4-3 on Sunday morning to secure a berth in tonight’s quarter-finals. The Jets opened round-robin play with a 4-2 loss to Nanaimo, then toppled Chilliwack 7-4. A 5-2 setback to the 16AA Junior Ducks on Saturday put Richmond in a must-win mode in its final preliminary game.
The winners of tonight’s quarter-finals will square off in Monday morning’s semi-finals. The championship game is slated for 7:45 p.m. at Minoru Arenas.
Meanwhile, the Jets have locked up a semi-final berth in the Bantam AAA Division thanks to three straight wins. The hosts opened the tournament on Friday with victories against Wenatchee (7-2) and South Delta (6-1). They also trimmed North Delta 5-4 on Saturday and are slated to play Mission in their final round-robin game.
The semi-finals take place Monday afternoon at the Richmond Ice Centre and the RIC’s Forum Rink will host the championship game at 8 p.m.
In the Bantam AA Division, the Jets need a win in their final preliminary game on Sunday afternoon against Cowichan to secure a semi-final berth. Richmond opened the tournament with a 3-2 win against Semihamoo then fell 6-0 to the California Wave.
The Bantam AA title game takes place at 5:45 p.m. on Monday at the RIC.
In the Midget AA Division, the Jets will close out the tournament with a consolation game on Monday after going 0-3-1 in round-robin play.
