U15 Canadians Wrap Up Season in Langley Playoffs

The BCEHL’s U15 season is over, with the U15 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians falling just short in their quest to repeat as division champions, as they fell 6-0 on Saturday morning to the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds in the quarter-finals.

The Thunderbirds wound up capturing the U15 AAA championship over the Thompson Blazers in the title game on Sunday.

The U15 AAA playoff tournament was a five-day tournament which began on Wednesday with a round-robin portion and concluded with the title game on Sunday. All games were held at the Canlan Ice Sports Langley Twin Rinks. 

The Canadians, who had won the championship in 2022-23, finished this season’s playoff tournament with a 1-3-1-0 record overall in their five games. 

The Canadians were awarded a 0-0 tie in their first game against Thompson on Wednesday, the first day of the playoffs, as the contest was cancelled due to weather. Nonetheless, goalie Wilfred Hogan, an affiliate player for GVC, was awarded a shutout in the contest. 

The following day on Thursday, GVC fell 5-2 to the Vancouver North West Hawks, with Noah Tait and Henry Goldman collecting the goals for the Canadians. The game was tied 2-2 in the third period, but two goals in a two-minute span early in the frame put the Hawks ahead for good, and Vancouver North West added an insurance marker with only 2:35 remaining. Despite the loss, D’Angelo Brual made 30 saves, including 20 over the last two periods. 

On Friday, the Canadians wrapped up the round-robin portion of the playoff tournament by splitting their two games, losing 3-1 to Cariboo in the early game and beating the Vancouver Island Royals 4-2 in the finale. Three second-period goals by the Cougars were more than enough in the early game, before William Trolland put the Canadians on the scoreboard with 5:46 left in regulation for GVC’s only tally. Joshua Read made 18 saves for the Canadians in the loss. 

Against the Royals, Henry Goldman scored twice as the Canadians picked up their first win of the round robin. Goldman and Evan Borisoff scored in the first as Greater Vancouver jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and Magnus Balakrishnan put GVC ahead 3-1 with a clutch goal in the final minute of the second period. A power-play goal by Goldman early in the third put the game out of reach, and D’Angelo Brual was outstanding in goal with 26 saves—11 in the final period. 

The Canadians’ hopes for a repeat championship ended on Saturday, as they lost the quarter-finals by a score of 6-0 to the eventual champions, the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds, 6-0. 

All in all, it was a strong 2023-24 season for the U15 Canadians, who won four games in February to finish the regular season 12-15-1-2. In the playoffs, Henry Goldman led the way with three goals in five games, and Evan Borisoff, Magnus Balakrishnan, Noah Tait, and William Trolland also scored a goal. In total, 13 different players picked up a point. In goal, D’Angelo Brual logged a .889 save percentage with a 3.50 goals-against average, Wilfred Hogan was credited with a shutout in the cancelled game, and Joshua Read also saw action in two games.