U18 Canadians’ Three-Game Win Streak Ends as GVC Plays 4 Games in 5 Days

The U18 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians’ modest three-game win streak came to an end as the team played four times in five days from Thursday to Monday, dropping all four games against Fraser Valley and Valley West. 

The Canadians’ stretch began on Thursday (Dec. 7) at the Richmond Oval, as the club lost 6-1 to the Thunderbirds. Maxfeld Shin scored the only goal for the Canadians, who were within striking distance, trailing 3-1 in the second period, before Fraser Valley scored the final three goals to put the game out of reach. 

After an off-day, GVC played the Giants in a home-and-home series beginning Saturday at the Oval. The Canadians lost 3-2 despite goals from Jack MacFarlane and Graham Kilpatrick, as the Giants’ third-period short-handed goal proved to be the game-winner. Marcus Taylor stopped 49 shots in the defeat, including 20 in the second period.

On Sunday at the Langley Events Centre, the Canadians took a 2-1 lead after two periods on goals by Kilpatrick and Shin, but the Giants rallied for four goals in the third, including a pair of empty-netters in the final 1:14, to beat GVC 5-2.

Finally, on Monday at the Abbotsford Centre, the Canadians fell 5-4 to the Thunderbirds despite yet another goal from Kilpatrick, his team-leading 11th of the season. Fraser Valley took a 5-1 lead in the third period, but a furious rally by GVC fell just short. A.J. Abell, Miller Bruckshaw, and Aidan Mukai scored the other GVC goals.

Next up for the U18 Canadians (6-13-1-0), a weekend series in Revelstoke against the Thompson Blazers (2-16-1-1) on Dec. 16-17 (8:15 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.), and both games can be seen on playfullscreen.com.