The New Westminster C1 Royals got an opportunity to avenge their lone loss of the tournament in the gold medal game of the Herb House Midget Tournament last week.
They took full advantage, topping Mission 2-1 in overtime to claim the House tourney crown.
Ben Haberl wired a shot from the point with 2:30 left in the 10-minute extra session, securing the win for the home team.
With a 4-3 round-robin loss to Mission on their minds – a loss that saw New West stake out a 3-0 lead before slowing down – the Royals went on the offensive in the final. Matthew Dheilly-Sturrock gave the home team the lead but Mission replied, squeezing the equalizer past Matt Napady. Although New West held a firm advantage in shots, the Valley rival forced overtime. Haberl’s seeing-eye shot ended it.
Second-year defenceman Trenton Cowley was named the game’s MVP.
The road to the final involved a huge 5-1 decision over Langley, who entered the semifinal undefeated. The Royals pulled out to a 3-0 lead with goals by Lucas Celle, game MVP Joshua van Os and Dheilly-Sturrock. Even after Langley got replied, the momentum didn’t falter for New West, who rounded out the scoring on goals by Cowley and Dheilly-Sturrock, with his second.
New West began the tourney by tying their clubmates New West C2 3-3, with goals by Arjun Sidhu, Celle and van Os. Celle was named the MVP for the game. They also fended off a persistent Port Moody squad in a 4-0 triumph. Ryan Black, Sean McCarthy, Dheilly-Sturrock and Sidhu counted the goals, with Napady picking up the shutout and game MVP honours.
Against Mission the first time, Ikjot Mander, Dheilly-Sturrock and Haberl supplied the offence in a 4-3 setback, as first-year midget Noel Ellis earned the game MVP star. A few hours later, New West bounced back by outlasting Surrey 6-5. Celle and game MVP Dheilly-Sturrock tallied two goals apiece, with singles by Black and Sidhu.
