The Terrace Peewee rep hockey team triumphed in a Tier 2 tournament in Prince George recently.
The boys beat five teams in the round robin, making the top two to advance to finals.
First they defeated Grande Prairie 14-0, Williams Lake 7-2, and Cochrane 6-3.
Then they faced off against Prince George, losing 3-4 due to what coach Lenny Davis says was young referees, and his own lack of composure.
“Emotions got the best of us,” Davis said, explaining that he got frustrated with the officiating and was ejected from the game in the third period.
“I take full responsibility for the loss. I lost my composure and ultimately let down the team.”
Total penalties were fairly even in the first two periods, with five for Prince George, and six for Terrace.
In the third period Terrace took eight penalties, Prince George one, and Davis was ejected at 10 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and gross misconduct.
The score was 3-3 going into the third, and Prince George scored early on to make it 3-4, giving Terrace their first loss of the tournament.
But the boys recovered after that game, and defeated Quesnel 9-3 in their last round robin match.
They then advanced to finals and faced Prince George in a re-match, where they conquered, winning 8-1 to take the tournament trophy.
“Our team is coming together, the boys are really starting to bond and build a team-first mentality,” said Lenny after the tournament.
“I have been coaching for almost 20 years in the minors, and I have not seen a team with this much talent and heart,” he commented.
“I have had teams with more talent, but not heart and talent.”
Provincials is the goal, Lenny said, adding that the philosophy is that losses bring learning, build character, and the wins build confidence.
He added that it’s also awesome to have such supportive parents behind the team. “They are the real owners of this team,” he said.