Two goals in an 11-second span of the third period gave the New Westminster bantam hockey team the bronze medal at the Alberni Valley Tier 2/3 tournament last weekend.
Down 4-3 with less than four minutes left in the game, the Royals stormed back with two goals to take the lead for good after their opponents, the Oceanside Generals from Parksville, took an untimely double-minor penalty for a hit to the head. Team captain Miller Cressman scored with 1:45 remaining in the third period to tie it. With just 1:34 left on the clock, Jacob Chiu banged in the winner, assisted by Imran Kheraj.
"We knew we were controlling most of the play and had already beat them once before," said Royals coach Todd Fletcher. "It was the first time I saw them keep their heads up and continue to play as a team. It makes me proud to know that they believe in the systems we have as a unit."
New Westminster finished the round-robin portion of the tournament (held Jan. 4-6 at the Port Alberni Multiplex), placing first in their pool with a 3-0 record. A strong penalty kill and a string of timely shorthanded goals helped the Royals to a 3-0 win over the Juan de Fuca Grizzlies in the first game. Tashin and Cressman scored shorthanded goals and Connor Alderson added an even-strength marker with an assist from Evan Brydon. Connor Suffron-Sperger got the shutout and Tashin earned player of the game honours.
In a preview of the bronze medal game, the Royals took on Oceanside and beat them 5-2. After a scoreless first period, the Royals blew the game wide open with three unanswered goals in the second by Raihan Kheraj (assisted by Nate Irving), Cressman (assisted by Tashin) and another unassisted shorthanded marker by Tashin. After Oceanside made it 3-1, Cressman added a power-play goal to restore the Royals' three-goal lead. The teams traded goals in the third period, with Alderson's goal assisted by Chui. Dylan Klimchuk was solid in goal for New West.
The Royals finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with an 8-2 victory over the Nanaimo Clippers. New Westminster opened up 3-1 in the first period, with goals by Evan Brydon (assisted by Nicolas Hauka) Ben Manville and Alderson. Brydon added two more, as did Tashin. Cressman also potted a pair, while Tyson Tonack added a single tally.
The semifinal game against the Kerry Park Islanders was a heart-breaking loss.
Down 1-0 in the first, the Royals got back into the game with a shorthanded goal from Taylor Seganfreddo. After Kerry Park made it 3-1 in the third, the Royals made it close with a beautiful give-and-go goal by Chiu from Hauka. But that's as close as they would get. Kerry Park padded their lead and added an empty-net goal to make the final 5-2 for the Islanders.
That set up the dramatics in the Bronze Medal game.
"This weekend showed the coaching staff that there is a lot of promise in this group of young athletes willing to work their hardest every day we're at the rink, while heading into the last half of the season," said Fletcher.
