U18 Canadians Score 9 Goals in Losses vs. Hawks

The U18 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians dropped both games of a home-and-home series against the U18 Vancouver North West Hawks over the weekend (Jan. 20-21), falling 9-6 and 6-3. 

In the two losses, Kyle Zhang scored three times, while Marcus Kwong and Yashas Jain each had two goals. 

In Saturday’s game at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver, the Canadians jumped out to 2-0 and 3-1 leads in the first period—on goals by Marcus Kwong, Aidan Mukai, and Yashas Jain—but the Hawks rallied for the win with four goals in the second period and four more in the third. Maxfeld Shin tied the game 4-4 in the second, and then Kyle Zhang scored twice in the third for a 6-6 tie. But three goals by the Hawks in the final 7:39 resulted in the 9-6 Vancouver North West victory. 

On Sunday at the Richmond Oval, the Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead en route to the 6-3 win. Zhang’s third goal of the weekend cut the deficit to 4-1, and then Jain and Kwong both scored in the third to make it 5-3. A power-play goal by the Hawks midway through the third, however, put the game out of reach. GVC goaltender Marcus Taylor made 25 saves in the defeat. 

With Jain’s two-goal effort over the weekend, he now has 21 points, just one point behind team leader Lucas Epp.

The U18 Canadians, now 6-19-2-1 on the season, will have a bye week in BCEHL action before returning to action on Feb. 2-3 in Prince George against the U18 Cariboo Cougars.