U18 Canadians Earn Three Points vs. Rockets

The U18 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians extended their undefeated streak to four games, taking three of four points against the Okanagan Rockets over the weekend at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

The Canadians, coming off 7-1 and 9-1 victories over the Thompson Blazers in Kamloops the previous weekend, beat Okanagan 5-1 on Saturday and played the Rockets to a 2-2 tie on Sunday.

On Saturday, A.J. Abell and Nathan Van Hoeke scored first-period power-play goals to give GVC a 2-0 lead before the Rockets scored on a short-handed breakaway to make it 2-1. But Aidan Yao scored his first goal of the season early in the third to give the Canadians a two-goal cushion, and Luca Martyniuk, the team’s leading goal scorer, added an empty-netter with 1:16 remaining. Hunter Vye-Weedon closed out the scoring with the game’s final goal with 59.7 seconds left. In goal, Alan Peregrym gave up just one goal for the third straight game, stopping 30 of 31 shots. 

On Sunday, Vye-Weedon gave the Canadians a 1-0 lead midway through the first period and Hudson May, who debuted with the team just a week earlier, scored his second goal with GVC midway through the second for a 2-1 lead. But the Rockets tied things up in the third, forcing overtime. The Rockets then had a 4-on-3 power play with just over a minute left in the sudden-death period, but Peregrym and the Canadians shut the door as the two teams played to a 2-2 tie. Peregrym, 4-1-1 on the season, stopped 32 shots and saw his goals-against average dip to 2.00.

Through eight games, Luca Martyniuk leads the club with five goals, while Kaden Meyer is the assists leader with 11. 

Next up, the U18 Canadians (4-3-1) take on the U18 Vancouver NE Chiefs (5-4-0-1) in a home-and-home series beginning on Friday, Oct. 25, at the Scotia Barn at 4:30 p.m. The second game will be at the Richmond Oval on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 11:15 a.m. Both games can be seen on playfullscreen.com.