January 13, 2012
Posted in BC Edition, Minor, Tournament Results
By Mark Janzen /
Make it three for three when it comes to the Richmond Midget A1 team’s record in tournaments this year.
With a tidy 4-0 win over the Alaska Wolves U16AAA team Dec. 31, in the championship game of the 31st Annual Richmond International Midget Tournament, the Blues took home gold in the AAA division, becoming the first host to win the event in 14 years and capturing their third tournament title in as many events this season.
Having already won tournaments in Seafair and Arizona, the Blues entered the Richmond event teeming with confidence and after posting an impressive 7-0-0 record en route to garnering top spot, the team proved again their mastery of the short-term tournaments.
“Any time our backs have been against the wall, we have managed to stand up and do well,” said Blues coach Norm Macaulay. “Any time the guys seem to be challenged they’ll bear down on it and get the win.
“It’s a long war in this tournament with seven games in six days. We set our goals to make the semifinals and then anything could happen after that.”
And for the Blues, despite injuries to key players prior to and throughout the tournament and therefore playing with four call-up players in the final, they again found a way to win.
“We just stuck to our game plan and like they say, defence always wins in hockey. and our goalies, game after game, either one of them, shut the door and sooner or later we’ll get the goals,” Macaulay said.
Goalie Chris Clute got the shutout win in the final game while Alex Whitwham had a goal and two assists to lead the offence as the Blues capped off a tournament in which they outscored the opposition 31-5 and only once allowed a team to score more than one goal in a game.
“We’re fairly strong on the back end and in net so that’s kind of our savoir,” Macaulay said.
Richmond’s Mark Pearlman led the team in points with six goals and seven assists, which was good enough for third in tournament scoring, while Jeremy Chiang was the team’s goal-scoring leader with seven snipes to go along with four assists.
Clute finished the tournament with a 4-0-0 record, three shutouts, one goal allowed and a 0.25 goals against average while the Blues other goalie, Brodie Burdeny, was 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA.
In the AAA bronze medal game, Semiahmoo Ravens A1 beat North Delta Sundevils A1 3-2.
In the Major Midget division, it was the Moose Jaw Generals of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA League beating the North Island Silvertips, of the BC Major Midget League 4-1 to capture the title. Despite going 0-2-1 in their first three games, the Generals fought back with four straight wins to claim top spot.
B.C.’s Thompson Blazers and South Island Thunderbirds both lost in the Major Midget division quarter-finals.
In the AA division, the Littleton Hawks AA Minor team beat Yellowknife Carls Carpet 5-3 in the Gold final. In the Silver final, it was the California Wave U16AA beating the Surrey Hurricanes A2 2-0.
The Semiahmoo Ravens A2 team was the highest finishing B.C. team as they lost 7-5 to Yellowknife in the Gold semifinal.
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