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BCEHL WEEKEND UPDATE - JANUARY 18-23

For Immediate Release

January 18, 2023

 

Saanichton, B.C. - The BCEHL Winter Classic takes place this weekend in the communities of Fort St. James, Nak'azdli Whut'en, and Vanderhoof! The event will feature the Northern Capitals and Thompson-Okanagan Lakers of the Female U18 AAA league, along with the Cariboo Cougars and Thompson Blazers of the U18 AAA league.

 

Female U18 AAA

The 2023 BCEHL Winter Classic is set for this weekend as the third-place Thompson-Okanagan Lakers (10-10-0-2) and the fourth-place Northern Capitals (8-16-2-0) meet outdoors on Friday at Ernie Sam Memorial Arena, and Saturday inside Vanderhoof Arena. In a tightly contested season series between the two teams, the Capitals and Lakers have earned three wins each in six meetings this season. Through the season series, Camryn Ward has led the Capitals in scoring with six points (3g-3a), while Thompson-Okanagan's Ava MacLeod (4g-1a), Cassidy Bank (3g-2a), Jaylen Moraice-Budalich (3g-2a), Emma Deleurme (0g-5a) and Kilah Hodder (0g-5a) have all recorded five points against the Capitals this season.

 

The first-place Fraser Valley Rush (24-0-0-0) take on the fifth-place Greater Vancouver Comets (2-20-2-0) in a Thursday night matchup. The Rush remain undefeated on the season after earning three victories during their road trip up north last weekend. Vienna Rubin’s offensive contributions had a helping hand in the Rush’s success as the forward picked up 10 points (3g-7a) in three games. On the season, Rubin’s point total sits at 39 (18g-21a), which ranks third in league scoring.

 

As part of a busy week, the Comets also welcome the second-place Vancouver Island Seals (13-8-2-1) for two contests. Greater Vancouver’s most recent action was at the Female U18 showcase, where they picked up a 7-2 victory over the Northern Capitals on January 6th. Multi-point efforts from Ruby Thornton (2g-1a), Grace Cooper (1g-1a), Kirsten Lai (1g-1a) and Sophie Cruz (0g-2a) helped the Comets in the strong offensive effort. Seals’ forward Grace Gonyer had a successful weekend at the showcase, with seven points (4g-3a) over four games.

Thursday's Female U18 Game

Fraser Valley Rush @ Greater Vancouver Comets – 6:45 p.m. – Planet Ice Coquitlam

Friday’s Female U18 Game

Thompson-Okanagan Lakers @ Northern Capitals – 6:30 p.m. – Ernie Sam Memorial Arena

Saturday’s Female U18 Games 

Thompson-Okanagan Lakers @ Northern Capitals – 10:00 a.m. – Vanderhoof Arena

Vancouver Island Seals @ Greater Vancouver Comets – 6:00 p.m. – Planet Ice Coquitlam

Sunday’s Female U18 Game

Vancouver Island Seals @ Greater Vancouver Comets – 3:15 p.m. – Planet Ice Delta

 

Watch All Female U18 Games Live Here

 

U18 AAA 

The seventh-place Cariboo Cougars (8-13-1-0) and the eighth-place Thompson Blazers (4-19-0-1) square off outdoors at Ernie Sam Memorial Arena on Saturday, and inside Fort Forum Arena on Sunday as part of the BCEHL Winter Classic. Cariboo and Thompson recently met on January 7th and 8th, where the Cougars secured a pair of victories. Cariboo forward Joshua Sale helped his team offensively, recording six points (3g-3a) over the two games. Sale is tied with Parker White for the team lead in points (27) and with Isaiah Bagri in goals (11). Blazers’ forward Gavin Bretherick will look to continue to produce against the Cougars as he registered a pair of points (1g-1a) during their previous series.

 

The sixth-place Valley West Giants (12-10-0-1) welcome the fourth-place Vancouver NE Chiefs (13-8-2-1) on Wednesday. Winners of three straight games, Valley West has combined to score 27 goals during that span. A trio of Giants skaters have recorded eight or more points over the last three games: Miles Burgin (6g-3a), Mykhaylo Sheludchenko (4g-4a) and McCarthy Richardson (3g-5a). In their most recent action, the Chiefs split a two-game series against the Greater Vancouver Canadians on January 7th and 8th. Chiefs' forward Jonah Power-Smith found the back of the net three times and added an assist against Greater Vancouver. Power-Smith’s 14 goals on the season rank second on the team to Josh Kelly’s 22 goals.

 

On Saturday, first-place Greater Vancouver Canadians (19-3-3-1) host the Giants at the Richmond Ice Centre. The Canadians hung onto the top spot in the U18 league after last weekends series against the Okanagan Rockets, which resulted in a pair of ties. The Canadians' possess a balanced attack, as they boast a league-leading nine skaters (Jamie Hikida, Jordan Luk, Tyler Tse, Massimo Fazio, Dylan Nazareth, William Huo, Jonathan Clasby, Sean Richards, Matthew Hikida) who have recorded at least 20 points on the year.

Wednesday's U18 Game

Vancouver NE Chiefs @ Valley West Giants – 7:00 p.m. – Langley Events Centre 

Saturday’s U18 Games

Valley West Giants @ Greater Vancouver Canadians – 1:00 p.m. – Richmond Ice Centre

Vancouver NW Hawks @ North Island Silvertips – 4:45 p.m. – Frank Crane Arena

Thompson Blazers @ Cariboo Cougars – 6:30 p.m. – Ernie Sam Memorial Arena

Sunday’s U18 Games

Thompson Blazers @ Cariboo Cougars – 10:30 a.m. – Fort Forum Arena

Vancouver NW Hawks @ North Island Silvertips – 11:15 a.m. – Fuller Lake Arena 

Monday's U18 Game

Vancouver NE Chiefs @ Fraser Valley Thunderbirds – 7:00 p.m. – Abbotsford Centre

 

Watch All U18 Games Live Here

 

U17 AAA

The third-place Valley West Giants (15-6-2-3), kick off a busy week when they host the fifth-place Vancouver NW Hawks (14-7-2-2) in a Thursday night matchup. After a 3-3 tie between the two teams on January 14th in West Vancouver, both squads will be looking for an important two points to climb the standings. Giants’ forward Nikhael Dhaliwal will look to continue his point streak as he’s recorded three points (2g-1a) in three games since returning from the holiday break. The Hawks have been playing solid hockey as of late with a 5-1-1-0 record in their last seven. Hawks' captain Baden Pazdzierski is currently in the midst of a nine-game point streak where he has totaled 17 points (6g-11a).

 

The seventh-place South Island Royals (13-13-0-0) travel to the Mainland for a pair of games against the Giants. South Island will look to continue their winning ways this weekend as they’ve won three of four games since returning from the holiday break. Royals’ forward Carter Zeeben has found the back of the net six times in his last seven games, and is currently tied for first with Okanagan Rockets' forward Clayton Gillmore for the league lead in goals with 19.

 

The Hawks continue their weekend up north as they face the fourth-place Cariboo Cougars (15-7-1-2) on Saturday and Sunday. Goals from Ben Fofonoff, Cayden Wesley, Marek Brideau and Jacob McBurnie helped the Cougars earn a 4-1 victory in their most recent meeting with the Hawks on October 16th. Rylan Bissett and William McKay both rank inside the top 10 in league goal scoring as Bissett is tied for third with 18, while McKay is tied for seventh with 15.

Thursday's U17 Game

Vancouver NW Hawks @ Valley West Giants – 7:00 p.m. – Planet Ice Delta

Saturday’s U17 Games

South Island Royals @ Valley West Giants – 11:45 a.m. – Planet Ice Delta

Fraser Valley Thunderbirds @ Thompson Blazers – 2:15 p.m. – Art Holding Memorial Arena 

North Island Silvertips @ Greater Vancouver Canadians – 2:30 p.m. – Richmond Olympic Oval

Okanagan Rockets @ Vancouver NE Chiefs – 3:30 p.m. – Scotia Barn

Vancouver NW Hawks @ Cariboo Cougars – 6:30 p.m. – Kin Centre

Sunday’s U17 Games

North Island Silvertips @ Greater Vancouver Canadians – 8:30 a.m. – Richmond Olympic Oval

Okanagan Rockets @ Vancouver NE Chiefs – 10:45 a.m. – Scotia Barn

Vancouver NW Hawks @ Cariboo Cougars – 11:00 a.m. – Kin Centre

South Island Royals @ Valley West Giants – 11:15 a.m. – Langley Twin Rinks

Fraser Valley Thunderbirds @ Thompson Blazers – 4:15 p.m. – Sandman Centre

 

Watch All U17 Games Live Here

 

U15 AAA

The U15 league is not in action this week as they have a league-wide bye. During the bye-week, five of the league’s teams will be attending different tournaments.

 

U15 Tournaments

Valley West Giants, Fraser Valley Thunderbirds, Okanagan Rockets, Vancouver NE Chiefs: U15 Canadian Crown Tournament, Edmonton, AB.

 

Greater Vancouver Canadians: John Reid Memorial U15 AAA Tournament – St. Albert, AB

 

 

 

Watch All U15 Games Live Here

 

 

If you can’t make it out the games you can stream all BCEHL games live at: www.playfullscreen.com

 

To stay up to date on everything going on in the BCEHL visit the website to view schedules, standings, stats, and scores: BCEHL.net, follow @BCEHL on Twitter, @BCEHL_AAA on Instagram, and join the conversation by using #BCEHLAAAHOCKEY.

 

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