U17 Canadians Fall Short in Weekend Series vs. Thunderbirds

The U17 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians, returning to BCEHL play after a month off the league’s schedule, battled hard against the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds in their home-and-home series over the weekend but came up short, dropping both games 2-1 and 5-2.

The Canadians were seeing their first BCEHL action since Oct. 13, as they had been on a break from the league schedule for a month. In late October, GVC competed in the Bauer U17 Elite Tournament in Abbotsford, and just a week ago, the team played four games in Calgary in the Western Sport School Challenge (WSSC).

And the Canadians played well in various stretches on the weekend in their return to BCEHL play against Fraser Valley. 

On Saturday at the Richmond Oval, the Canadians got a goal from William Trolland eight minutes into the game, and held the Thunderbirds without a shot for the first 10 minutes of the contest. Fraser Valley, however, got the tying goal with only six seconds remaining in the second, and then scored the game-winner with 12:41 left in regulation. Despite the loss, Joshua Read was outstanding in goal for the Canadians, stopping 22 of 24 shots he faced, and didn’t allow the Hawks to score in any of their four power-play opportunities. 

On Sunday at Abbotsford’s Summit Centre, Henry Goldman and Gavin Dacpano scored for the Canadians, but it wasn’t enough in the 5-2 defeat. D’Angelo Brual, making his seventh start of the season, played a strong game in goal for GVC.

Through 12 games, the Canadians have a 1-9-2-0 record, with Trolland leading the club with 10 points and seven assists. Trevor Chin leads the team with five goals on the year, with Goldman second with four tallies. 

Next up for the U17 Canadians, a weekend series on the road against the Vancouver Island Royals (0-10-0-1) on Nov. 16-17. Saturday’s game is at 7:00 p.m. at the Ian H. Stewart Complex in Victoria, and Sunday’s finale is at 10:30 a.m. at Kerry Park in Mill Bay.