U15 Canadians Participated in Battle in Kelowna's Valley Tournament over Weekend

The BCEHL’s U15 division was not in action over the weekend as it enjoyed a bye week, but the U15 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians, along with four other division rivals, participated in the U15 AAA Battle in the Valley Tournament at the Capital News Centre in Kelowna. 

The event began on Thursday (Dec. 7) with the Canadians dropping a pair of contests. In the first game, which started at 8:00 a.m., it was the NWCAA U15 AAA Flames defeating GVC by a score of 5-0. In the second game, a 4:15 p.m. start, the Canadians fell 4-2 to the Cariboo Cougars. Nicholas Harris opened the scoring 10:03 into the game but the Cougars scored the next three goals, before Evan Borisoff scored with 1:46 left in the second to cut the deficit to 3-2. Alas, the Cougars added an insurance goal midway through the third to seal the two-goal victory.

The tournament resumed on Friday with GVC dropping a 7-4 decision to the North Shore Warriors Hockey Academy U15 Prep, as the Canadians finished the round-robin portion at 0-3-0. Connor Ma, Nicholas Harris, Jayden Rodas, and Evan Borisoff scored for the Canadians, but four first-period goals by North Shore and two more in the third proved too much for GVC to overcome. Ma added two assists, and William Trolland also picked up two helpers. 

On Saturday, the first day of the playoff round, the Canadians earned their first victory of the tournament with a 6-3 triumph over the Thompson Blazers. Three first-period goals gave GVC the early lead, and the Canadians went up 6-1 by the midway point of the third, with William Trolland scoring twice. Connor Ma, Christopher Tang, Magnus Balakrishnan, and Evan Borisoff scored the other GVC goals.

The Canadians closed out the four-day tournament on Sunday with a 7-4 playoff loss to the Vancouver NW Hawks despite battling hard throughout the contest. Henry Goldman and Evan Borisoff scored in the first period as the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie with eight minutes left in the frame, but the Hawks got the next two goals and never trailed again. Nicholas Harris and Lincoln Pavlich then scored for the Canadians as GVC got to within 5-4 with 7:35 left in the third. Alas, the Hawks closed out the game with two insurance goals in the final 5:35 as the Canadians fell just short. 

Evan Borisoff scored four goals in the tournament, and Nicholas Harris added three tallies. 

The U15 Canadians return to BCEHL action on Friday (Dec. 15), taking on the Vancouver NW Hawks at the Karen Magnussen Arena in North Vancouver for a 1:00 p.m. start. The same two teams then play on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. at the Richmond Olympic Oval, the final BCEHL game before the Christmas break. Both games can be seen on playfullscreen.com.