U15 Took Part in Bauer U15 Tournament Over Weekend

The U15 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians took a break from the BCEHL schedule over the weekend, but they were not idle as they participated in the annual Bauer U15 Elite Invite tournament from Friday to Monday, playing three round-robin games and a pair of playoff games over the four days (Oct. 6 to Oct. 9) on the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend.

The Bauer U15 Elite Invite tournament, which took place this year at the Summit Centre in Abbotsford, B.C., hosted 16 of the top elite U15 clubs from Western Canada and the United States in a highly competitive event showcasing elite hockey players in the U15 age category. 

The Canadians went 0-2-1 in the round-robin portion of the tournament which ran on Friday and Saturday, and then dropped both of their playoff contests—two very close games—on Sunday and Thanksgiving Monday. 

The club began the round-robin leg of the event by playing twice on Friday (Oct. 6), earning a 1-1 tie against the Okanagan Rockets in the first game. GVC trailed 1-0 in the third period until Henry Goldman scored three minutes into the frame to salvage the tie. GVC goaltender D’Angelo Brual gave up only a first-period goal and nothing else the rest of the way. 

In the second game on Friday, the Canadians jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead against Delta Hockey Academy (DHA) Green on goals by Evan Borisoff and Henry Goldman, but DHA struck for three goals in a two-minute span late in that period for a 3-2 lead. Jayden Rodas and Borisoff then scored early in the second to put GVC back on top, 4-3, only to see DHA rally for four straight goals to end that frame with a 7-4 cushion. DHA added two more goals in the third for a 9-4 victory. 

On Saturday, the Canadians dropped a 6-5 thriller to San Jose U15, with the winning goal coming with only 11 seconds remaining in regulation. Evan Borisoff continued his torrid scoring pace with his third goal of the tournament eight minutes into the game, tying the game 1-1. William Trolland and Luke Wilson then scored early in the second period for a 3-2 lead. After San Jose U15 scored the next three goals to go up 5-3, the Canadians didn’t quit as Borisoff scored again with 12:21 left in the third period to pull GVC to within 5-4. Nicholas Harris tied things up with just 6:59 remaining, and all signs pointed to an overtime to settle this contest. Alas, San Jose U15 notched the game-winner with only 11 seconds left, and the Canadians fell to 0-2-1 in the round-robin portion of the tournament. 

In the first game of the playoffs on Sunday, the Canadians faced the California Bears and lost 4-2. California scored the game’s first three goals for a 3-0 lead, with the third goal coming 11 seconds into the third period. GVC didn’t give up, scoring its first goal with 5:57 remaining as Evan Borisoff notched his fifth of the tournament. William Trolland scored with 23 seconds left to pull the Canadians to within 3-2. With time running out and the Canadians having pulled their goaltender for an extra skater, though, California scored into the empty net with one second left to round out the scoring.  

In the playoff finale on Monday, the Canadians took a 3-1 lead over the NE Chiefs before dropping a 5-3 decision to close out the four-day tournament. William Trolland opened the scoring with 9:55 to go in the first period, only to see the Chiefs tied it up with only four seconds left in the frame. In the second, goals by Jayden Rodas and Owen Chivers two minutes apart gave the Canadians a 3-1 lead. Alas, a power-play goal five minutes into the third by the Chiefs cut the deficit to 3-2 before Vancouver NE tied it up three minutes later. Then, with GVC on the power play, the Chiefs scored short-handed with 6:51 remaining to take their first lead. After the Canadians pulled goalie D’Angelo Brual in the final minute, the Chiefs scored into the empty net with 47 seconds left to close out the 5-3 contest.