It was a hoped for final, complete with happy ending.
The New Westminster Royals capped their own Herb House Memorial Midget Hockey tournament with a 2-1 win over the Port Coquitlam Pirates in the final.
As the score indicates, it took a lot of hard work and some good fortune to finish the way it did.
New West jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Finnley Cookson and Jordan Atchison, watched PoCo narrow the gap late in the first period, and then held on the rest of the way.
Backstopped by netminder Matt Forero and a stellar defence, New West picked up an impressive victory over its Flight 2 division rival, and hope to use that good feeling down the home stretch.
“Solid defensive play in the final two periods combined with some big saves by (Forero) sealed the win for the team,” said New West coach Shawn Hagan.
While the two teams are close in league standings – the Royals sit tied for third with a 7-4-3 record, while PoCo is fifth at 7-6-1 – the tournament appeared to be wide open, especially after the Pirates rolled up a 5-3 decision in round-robin play.
“The game plan (in the final) was to be aggressive on the puck carrier in our end of the ice and to limit scoring opportunities for the other team,” said Hagan.
It all went as planned.
Prior to that, New West had advanced to the championship final by knocking off New West A2 by an 8-0 score, while PoCo maintained its undefeated string with a 5-1 decision over Cloverdale A-2.
Earlier, they had blanked Cloverdale 3-0, edged New West A2 5-3, and defeated Kent 13-0.
“It’s a little extra special to win your hometown tournament,” he added. “You want to show well before your family and the kids.
“Most of the team have played together off and on over their minor hockey careers and seem to be coming together at the right time.”
The New West midget A2 Royals, meanwhile, won the bronze game with a 4-2 doubling of Cloverdale.
