U17 Canadians Drop 2025-26 Opening Weekend Series to Blazers

The U17 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians opened their 2025-26 campaign over the weekend (Sept. 13-14) with a tough home series against the U17 Thompson Blazers, falling in both games.

The Canadians fell 7-0 on Saturday and 11-3 on Sunday, with both contests taking place at the Richmond Olympic Oval. 

In Saturday’s opener, the Blazers struck early and built a commanding lead, scoring three goals in each of the first two periods en route to the 7-0 win. Both GVC goaltenders, Kaz Patrick-Russell and Wilfred Hogan, saw action turned aside several high-quality chances, but Thompson controlled the pace and capitalized on sustained offensive pressure throughout the night.

On Sunday, Brian Woolfenden, Leander Han, and Koen Lee found the scoresheet for the Canadians, but it wasn’t enough to slow a relentless Blazers attack. Thompson once again jumped out to an early lead and maintained control, skating to the 11-3 win. Patrick-Russell and Hogan were again called upon for key stops throughout the game, but the Blazers offense remained in rhythm from start to finish. Woolfenden led the way offensively for GVC with three points, adding two assists to his stat line, while Han also recorded an assist to round out a multi-point effort.

The Canadians (0-2-0) will look to bounce back when they face the U17 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (2-0-0) in a home-and-home series next weekend (Sept. 20-21). Saturday’s game will be held at the Richmond Olympic Oval at 2:30 p.m., with the rematch set for Sunday at the Abbotsford Centre at 3:45 p.m. Live coverage of both games will be available on playfullscreen.com.