U17 Canadians Bounce Back With Home-and-Home Split vs. Thunderbirds

The U17 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians bounced back from a pair of lopsided losses last week to earn a split against the U17 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds over the weekend (Sept. 20-21), winning 4-1 at home on Saturday before falling 8-5 in Abbotsford on Sunday.

Four games into the 2025-26 season, the U17 Canadians have a 1-3-0 record. 

On Saturday at the Richmond Olympic Oval, Maxwell Clemens had a pair of goals while Wilfred Hogan made more than 30 saves, as the Canadians won their first game of the season, 4-1. Austin Yu opened the scoring for GVC with a short-handed goal early in the first period, and then Clemens scored on the power play midway through the opening frame for a 2-0 advantage. Clemens then scored again in the second, before Boden Spratley put GVC ahead 4-0 with his own power-play marker midway through the third period. Hogan, meanwhile, turned in a stellar performance between the pipes, keeping the Thunderbirds off the scoreboard until just 2:15 remained in regulation.

On Sunday at the Abbotsford Centre, the Thunderbirds struck early and often to build a commanding lead, and although GVC mounted a spirited third-period comeback, the Canadians ultimately fell short as Fraser Valley won 8-5. Brian Woolfenden, Nolan Rizzardo, and Noah Law all scored in the third for the Canadians, but their late push couldn’t erase a 7-2 deficit after two periods, fueled by Fraser Valley’s five-goal first. Keenan Mak and Maxwell Clemens had the other goals for GVC.

Through four games, Clemens leads the team with three goals and is tied with Leander Han for second in overall points with five. Woolfenden tops the leaderboard with six points, with his two goals and four assists. Among defensemen, Spratley leads the way with three points.

Next up for the U17 AAA Canadians, a weekend series at the Oval against the Cariboo Cougars (2-0-0) on Sept. 27-28. Saturday’s game will start at 2:30 p.m. while Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Live coverage of both games will be available on playfullscreen.com.