U17 Canadians Drop First Game After Christmas Break vs. Giants

The U17 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians dropped a 4-1 decision to the U17 AAA Valley West Giants on Sunday (Jan. 11) in their first action after the Christmas break, despite Jake Moran’s second goal of the season and a strong performance in goal from Joshua Read.

The same two clubs were originally scheduled to complete the back end of their home-and-home series on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at Planet Ice Delta, but that game has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4. 

Saturday’s game, which took place at the Richmond Olympic Oval, saw the Giants take a 1-0 lead midway through the first period on a goal by Shay Peters. Moran, though, tied the game at 1-1 with 8:10 remaining in the second period, his second goal of 2025-26. 

The score stayed that way until Valley West took the lead for good just two minutes into the third period on Peters’ second of the game, and a Giants power-play goal with 3:41 remaining gave the visitors the insurance they needed.

Looking to get back into the game, the Canadians pulled Read for an extra skater with just under three minutes left, but Peters scored into the empty net moments later with 2:26 to go, completing his hat trick and icing the game for the Giants.

Read played an outstanding game for GVC, making 32 saves.

Through 25 games, the Canadians have an 8-14-3-0 record, good for 19 points and eighth in the BCEHL’s nine-team U17 division. Brian Woolfenden leads the team with 11 goals, 15 assists, and 26 points. Maxwell Clemens is second in goals with nine, while Leander Han is second in both assists and points, with 13 and 15, respectively. Among defensemen, Boden Spratley leads the squad with four goals, 10 assists, and 14 points. 

As of this writing, the U17 Canadians are scheduled to play three games this week, all at the Richmond Olypmic Oval. The action begins on Friday, Jan. 16, against the third-place Vancouver NE Chiefs at 6:00 p.m., followed by a two-game series against the last-place Vancouver Island Royals (5:15 p.m. on Saturday and 11:15 a.m. on Sunday).