U17 Canadians Go 3-0-2 in Bauer U17 Tournament

The U17 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians had a successful showing at the Bauer U17 Prep Elite Invitational at the Summit Centre in Abbotsford over the weekend (Oct. 19-22), going 3-0-2 in the 16-team tournament featuring U17 clubs from Canada and the United States. 

The Canadians went 1-0-2 in the round-robin portion of the tournament on the event’s first two days before winning both of their playoff games on the final two days.

The tournament began on Thursday (Oct. 19) with the Canadians defeating Santa Clarita 6-3, as Luca Martyniuk scored twice and Joshua Mytton notched the game-winner early in the second period. Helius Guan, Neven Heer, and Kendric Liu also scored for GVC. Liam Leslie made 15 saves in the win.

On Friday, the Canadians played twice, earning ties in both games to finish the round robin 1-0-2. In the first game, the Canadians and Edge School U17 Prep played to a 2-2 tie with Vlad Ursache scoring both GVC goals.

In Friday’s second game, GVC and Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna played to a 3-3 draw, with the Canadians giving up two goals in the final 46 seconds of regulation (including the tying goal with only one second remaining). John Bethell scored in the first period to tie the game 1-1, and Luca Martyniuk and Adian Mark both found the back of the net in the third period to give GVC what seemed like a commanding 3-1 lead, before Rink Kelowna’s dramatic comeback.

There would be no suspense in Saturday’s first playoff game, as GVC defeated Delta Black 8-1. Aidan Yao scored twice, while Luca Martyniuk, Joshua Mytton, Nathan Van Hoeke, Vlad Ursache, Sorash Ramlal, and Nicholas Drapack also scored for the Canadians. 

The Canadians then wrapped up the tournament on Sunday with a 4-1 win over the Fort Sask Rangers in their second playoff game. Nathan Van Hoeke scored two goals for GVC, and John Bethell and Nathan Van Hoeke also scored for the Canadians.

Luca Martyniuk (4 goals, 4 assists) and Sorash Ramlal (2 goals, 6 assists) both finished with eight points in five games to tie for the team lead, while Nathan Van Hoeke added five points (3 goals, 2 assists). Alan Peregrym notched a 1.50 goals-against average in his two starts, going 1-0-1, while Liam Leslie had a 2.33 GAA and finished 2-0-1.

Due to a change in the original schedule, the U17 Canadians return to BCEHL action on Nov. 11-12 at the Richmond Olympic Oval against the visiting U17 Okanagan Rockets. For the most up-to-date schedule information and scores, check out the BCEHL website.