BCEHL WEEKEND UPDATE - FEBRUARY 15-19
For Immediate Release
February 15, 2023
Saanichton, B.C. - The U17 league is set for a busy weekend as the league's second showcase of the season kicks off on Friday at Newton Arena in Surrey. Let's take a look at what's going on around the BCEHL!
Female U18 AAA
The Female U18 AAA league is not in action this weekend as they have a league-wide bye. During the bye-week, three of the league’s teams will be attending the Fraser Valley Classic in Langley.
Female U18 AAA Tournaments
Fraser Valley Rush, Greater Vancouver Comets, Vancouver Island Seals - Fraser Valley Classic – Langley, B.C.
U18 AAA
The third-place Vancouver NW Hawks (21-7-2-1) and the fourth-place Vancouver NE Chiefs (16-9-3-2) meet in West Vancouver on Saturday, and Burnaby on Sunday. The Hawks extended their winning streak to six games after Anthony Ip found the back of the net in the extra-frame to secure a 2-1 victory over the Greater Vancouver Canadians on February 9th. The Hawks’ top-ranked goaltending tandem has been on full display, as Joshua Ravensbergen and Jon Castro have combined to allow a total of six goals throughout the winning streak. Behind the Hawks by just one spot in the standings, the Chiefs’ have posted a record of 3-0-1-0 over their last four. The Chiefs have met the Hawks on two previous occasions this season. In the first meeting on November 26th, Chiefs' forward Josh Kelly recorded a pair of goals in a 2-2 tie, while netminder Brayden Burrows recorded a 31-save shutout in a 4-0 Chiefs victory in the second matchup.
In Prince George, the league-leading Greater Vancouver Canadians (23-3-4-2) meet the sixth-place Cariboo Cougars (15-14-1-2). Cariboo earned victories in a pair of games against the North Island Silvertips last weekend. Quesnel’s West Fraser Centre played host to Friday night’s contest, where Cougars’ forward Mason Loewen picked up four goals and an assist in a 9-0 victory. Loewen’s goal total on the season jumped to 18, which leads all Cougars’ skaters. In two games against Cariboo this season, Canadians’ forward Sean Richards has posted six points (4g-2a), which included a hat-trick and four points in a 10-1 victory on November November 27th.
In Kamloops, the second-place Okanagan Rockets (22-5-2-1) take on the eighth-place Thompson Blazers (6-22-1-1). Winners of three straight, the Rockets picked up a pair of key victories last weekend against the Valley West Giants in pursuit of the top spot in the standings. Four skaters (Erik Pastro, Brayden Schwaerzle, Hunter Laing and Hayden Hall) helped Okanagan as they recorded points in both games. Pastro has collected nine points (6g-3a) over a four-game point streak. Pastro’s 54 points (26g-28a) currently sits tied for second in U18 scoring, while his 26 goals rank third. Thompson’s most recent action saw them secure a pair of victories over the North Island Silvertips on February 4th and 5th. The goaltending tandem of Kellan Mooney and Preston Lewis combined to allow only one goal over the two games, which included a shutout from Mooney in an 8-0 victory on February 5th.
Friday’s U18 Game
Valley West Giants @ Fraser Valley Thunderbirds – 7:00 p.m. – Abbotsford Centre
Saturday’s U18 Games
Okanagan Rockets @ Thompson Blazers – 2:15 p.m. – Kamloops Memorial Arena
Vancouver NE Chiefs @ Vancouver NW Hawks – 6:15 p.m. – Hollyburn Country Club
Greater Vancouver Canadians @ Cariboo Cougars – 6:30 p.m. – Kin Centre
Sunday’s U18 Games
Vancouver NW Hawks @ Vancouver NE Chiefs – 10:45 a.m. – Scotia Barn
Greater Vancouver Canadians @ Cariboo Cougars – 11:00 a.m. – Kin Centre
Thompson Blazers @ Okanagan Rockets – 12:45 p.m. – Capital News Centre
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds @ Valley West Giants – 3:30 p.m. – Langley Events Centre
U17 AAA
At the showcase, the top two teams in the U17 league collide as the league-leading Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (26-5-1-1) take on the second-place Okanagan Rockets (21-9-2-1) on Saturday. This will mark the fourth contest between the two teams as the Rockets were winners in the first two meetings on November 26th and December 3rd, while the Thunderbirds claimed the most recent game on December 4th. Okanagan enters the weekend with wins in four of their last five games, which includes two victories in a pair of tightly contested matchups against the Vancouver NW Hawks on February 11th and 12th. The Thunderbirds enter the showcase on a four-game winning streak, after a pair of victories against the North Island Silvertips last weekend. The top ranked offense in the U17 league with 171 goals, the Thunderbirds boast three skaters inside the top five in league scoring as Manwinder Sandhu (16g-31a), Nico Venier (19g-26a) and Troy Horn (15g-30a) have all enjoyed successful offensive campaigns thus far.
The fourth-place Greater Vancouver Canadians (19-12-1-1) and the fifth-place Valley West Giants (17-11-2-3) meet on Friday morning. The Canadians enter the weekend with victories in three of their last four games. Goaltender Marcus Taylor’s win total sits at 11 on the season after having earned victories in three straight starts, including a shutout victory against the South Island Royals in his most recent start on February 5th. Giants’ forwards Gus Schill and Devon Mahil are currently riding three-game point streaks, where Schill has picked up three points (0g-3a), and Mahil has put up four points (1g-3a).
The sixth-place Cariboo Cougars (17-10-1-3) and the eighth-place Vancouver NE Chiefs (12-16-3-2) meet on Friday morning, and again on Sunday morning. The Chiefs will look to keep their momentum going as they picked up a pair of victories against the Valley West Giants last weekend. In those two wins, forwards Maximillian Aysslinger (2g-2a) and Agam Rawan (3g-1a) each picked up four points. Cougars’ forward Grady Gustafson is in the midst of a six-game goal streak, where he has picked up nine points (7g-2a) in total. In 20 games on the season, Gustafson has scored 12 goals to go along with six assists.
Wednesday's U17 Game
Vancouver NW Hawks @ Greater Vancouver Canadians – 7:30 p.m. – Richmond Olympic Oval
Friday's U17 Games
All games played at Newton Arena
Valley West Giants vs. Greater Vancouver Canadians – 8:00 a.m.
Vancouver NE Chiefs vs. Cariboo Cougars – 10:45 a.m.
Vancouver NW Hawks vs. Fraser Valley Thunderbirds – 1:30 p.m.
North Island Silvertips vs. Thompson Blazers – 4:15 p.m.
Okanagan Rockets vs. South Island Royals – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday’s U17 Games
All games played at Newton Arena
Greater Vancouver Canadians vs. Vancouver NW Hawks – 8:00 a.m.
North Island Silvertips vs. Cariboo Cougars – 10:45 a.m.
South Island Royals vs. Vancouver NE Chiefs – 1:30 p.m.
Okanagan Rockets vs. Fraser Valley Thunderbirds – 4:15 p.m.
Valley West Giants vs. Thompson Blazers – 7:00 p.m.
Sunday’s U17 Games
All games played at Newton Arena
Vancouver NE Chiefs vs. Cariboo Cougars – 8:00 a.m.
North Island Silvertips vs. Thompson Blazers – 10:45 a.m.
Okanagan Rockets vs. South Island Royals – 1:30 p.m.
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds vs. Vancouver NW Hawks – 4:15 p.m.
Greater Vancouver Canadians vs. Valley West Giants – 7:00 p.m.
U15 AAA
In the U15 league’s lone matchup, the second-place Okanagan Rockets (18-3-2-1) and the fifth-place Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (14-8-2-1) meet in Kelowna. The Rockets have posted a record of 3-0-1-0 over their last four games, who have allowed a combined total of four goals over that span. All season long, the goaltending duo of Tyson Adams and Finn McKiernan have been rock solid, as McKiernan’s 1.70 goals against average leads all U15 goaltenders, while Tyson Adams’ 10 victories is second among all netminders. This matchup sets up to be a goaltending duel, as Fraser Valley’s tandem of Graydon van der Zweep and Mason Clegg have combined to allow an average of 2.04 goals per game on the season. On the offensive side of the puck, Thunderbirds’ captain Deegan Holding has put up 12 points (7g-5a) over his last seven games.
Saturday's U15 Game
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds @ Okanagan Rockets – 3:00 p.m. – Capital News Centre
Sunday's U15 Game
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds @ Okanagan Rockets – 10:00 a.m. – Capital News Centre
If you can’t make it out the games you can stream all BCEHL games live at: www.playfullscreen.com.
To stay up to date on everything going on in the BCEHL visit the website to view schedules, standings, stats, and scores: BCEHL.net, follow @BCEHL on Twitter, @BCEHL_AAA on Instagram, and join the conversation by using #BCEHLAAAHOCKEY.
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