U17 Canadians Take Both Games in Langley Weekend Showcase

The U17 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians got back into the win column this past weekend, snapping a two-game losing skid, as they won both of their contests in a BCEHL U17 showcase weekend at the Canlan Ice Sports Langley Twin Rinks (Oct. 14-15). 

With the two victories, GVC improves to 5-2-0-1, tied for second in the U17 division with the Vancouver NE Chiefs (5-2-1-0). Both teams are only two points behind first-place Fraser Valley (6-1-1-0). 

On Saturday, the Canadians were matched up against the U17 Thompson Blazers and came away with a 6-3 triumph. Although Thompson opened the scoring 6:47 into the contest, it was GVC notching the next five goals in a row to take control of the game. Aidan Yao scored on the power play midway through the first period to tie the game 1-1, before Vlad Ursache and Joshua Mantle scored 1:30 apart late in the frame to give the Canadians a 3-1 advantage. Sorash Ramlal and Helius Guan added goals in the second period while John Bethell also scored in the third, and Liam Leslie made 24 saves in the victory, his second of the season. 

For Yao, Ursache, Mantle, Guan, and Bethell, each player’s goal was his first of the season. Ramlal’s goal, meanwhile, was his fifth, tied for the team lead with Trevor Chin—although both players would also score on Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, the Canadians defeated the Vancouver NE Chiefs 3-1 to complete a sweep of their weekend games and pull into a second-place tie in the standings. John Bethell scored 8:05 into the contest before Trevor Chin scored his sixth of the season three minutes into the second period for a 2-0 lead. After the Chiefs cut the deficit to 2-1 two minutes later, Ramlal had his sixth of the year, a power-play marker, at the 6:23 mark of the second. Neither team scored in the third period, and Alan Peregrym stopped all 10 shots he faced in the final frame (making 23 saves overall) in GVC’s second straight victory. 

Next up in BCEHL action for the U17 Canadians, a trip to Prince George on Nov. 4-5 to take on the U17 Cariboo Cougars at the Kin Centre (6:30 p.m. on Nov. 4 and 10:15 a.m. on Nov. 5). Both games can be seen on playfullscreen.com.