Richmond Minor Hockey Association’s Pee Wee C1 Rangers, coached by Nick Steadman and Peter Thackwray, finished off their amazing season with a fantastic showing at RMHA’s own Sheraton Spring Classic Hockey Tournament.
The Rangers consisting of Josh Higo, Kai Samson, Bruce Chan, Jaden Neufeld, Justin Brower, Geoffrey Bian, Marcus Zeledon, Marcel Ahmed, Vikram Sarkaria, Jackson Thackwray and Ali Keshvani, continued their winning streak with triumphs over Prince George 9-0, Coquitlam 4-2, Saanich 7-1, Surrey 10-1.
Although missing one of their defensive players for the entire tournament and another blueliner for the semifinals, the Rangers were still able to grind through the tournament playoffs, beating Richmond Peewee C2, but ended up losing in the final to their rival Richmond Peewee C3 team to place second.
The silver medal finish caps a terrific campaign that earlier included winning the North Vancouver Winter Tournament and capturing the Pacific Coast regular season and playoff banners. The Rangers' success can be attributed to the hard work ethic, excellent teamwork and outstanding goaltending by Ali Keshvani. The team’s record was 15-3-0 during the regular season and 10-0-0 in the playoffs.
The coaches would agree the Rangers had a bit of a slow start but once the players bonded their team chemistry seemed to just get stronger and stronger as the season went on.
Consistent goaltending from Keshvani, with 11 shutouts, was definitely a key factor. On top of the goaltending, there was a very solid defensive combination consisting of Jackson, Marcus, Marcel and Vikram. On the offensive side the Rangers had the two lines consisting of Josh, Kai and Bruce on one line and Jaden, Justin and Geoffrey on the second.
The parents and coaches congratulate the players outstanding hockey season.
