The New Westminster Royals bantam C3 hockey team must have been sad to see the season end.
The bantam house team put it all together in the final tournament of the season, upsetting the previously undefeated and heavily favoured North Delta Icehawks 7-0 in the final of the North Delta Spring Classic hockey tournament on March 20.
"I am so proud of the players for coming together after going through so much and still having so much fun," said Royals' coach Brian Tuccori in a contributed email. "It was a total team effort - goaltending, defence and forwards."
Playing without a key player and several others with injuries, the Royals posted a 3-1 record in the round-robin portion of the tournament, including back-to-back shutouts by goalie Dominic Von Schoenberg.
Forwards Nicolas Hauka, Kash O'Quinn and Xander Skelton led the squad in overall scoring at the tournament.
Schoenberg, O'Quinn, Hauka, Josh Berrow, Griffin Bailey and Cameron Quadrelli were all selected players of the game at the competition.
The Royals advanced to the event final following a 5-2 win over Ridge Meadows Lokomotiv in the semifinal.
In the championship final, New West scored off the opening faceoff and never looked back.
Von Schoenberg posted his third shutout of the tournament in the division final and finished with a stellar 1.16 goals against average in seven games.
"It was a great time for the parents, coaches and players," said Tuccori. "They really came together."
