Stories by Adam Dunfee /
The North Shore Winter Club Bantam A1s have shaken off the rust that they picked up on their way home from Medicine Hat.
After finishing in third place at the Medicine Hat Hounds tournament, the A1s returned to league play and went winless in their next three games. The team had been a flawless 6-0 before the tournament.
“Our first game back after a couple of days off was a tough game and our work ethic was kind of lacking, I thought. It was a real kind of let down emotionally,” said coach Jim Dinwoodie.
The team bounced back after the mini-slump by posting three straight wins.
Team captain Nic Petan is the offensive catalyst for the A1s and Dinwoodie sees a bright hockey future ahead for him.
“For my money, for the years I’ve spent on the North Shore at every level, he’s one of the best players I’ve ever stood behind.”
That’s pretty high praise as Dinwoodie has spent close to 20 years behind the bench.
“I’ve stood behind some great players, players that are playing in the NHL, and he’s got something I haven’t seen before. His vision, how he sees and reads plays is well beyond his years. I’ve yet to see a player this advanced at this age.”
Petan and the rest of the A1s will need to keep well rested through the Christmas break and the new year as they’ll participate in two tournaments between now and the end of January.
The first tournament will be the 47th Annual Burnaby Minor International Bantam Christmas Tournament, which runs Dec. 27 to 31.
The A1s will be up against some stiff competition in the tournament and Dinwoodie is hopeful that his team will bring their ‘A’ game.
“Are we good enough to be in there? Yeah. Are we good enough to play on the Sunday (final day of competition)? Yeah, I think we are. But I get real nervous about saying that because as soon as you throw that outcome out there, if you hit a bump along the way, it’s deemed as failure and I hate branding winning and losing as the ultimate measuring stick at this age—we’re not professional and it’s more development for us.”
In January, the A1s will travel to St. Albert, Alta. to play in the John Reid Memorial Bantam Tournament.
That tournament runs Jan. 21- to 24.
AROUND THE BANTAM DIVISION
The NSWC Bantam A2s continue to roll along. The A2s are 9-2-3 through 14 league games.
Meanwhile, the Bantam A3s are 4-10-3 through 17 league games.
The Bantam A4s are still looking for their first win 14 games into league play, they’re 0-14. The NSWC Bantam Hawks are 8-4-4.
FRED PAGE INVITATIONAL
SET FOR DEC. 27 AT THE CLUB
The Second Annual Fred Page International Peewee Tournament will be held at the North Shore Winter Club Dec. 27 to 30.
Ten teams will take part in the tournament, seven from the Lower Mainland, two from Washington State and one from Alberta.
The tournament will be a partial preview of the upcoming Quebec International PeeWee Tournament as three of the teams competing in the Fred Page tournament, the North Shore Winter Club A1s, the Burnaby Winter Club A1s, and the Semiahmoo A1s will play in the Quebec tournament in February.
Joining those three teams at the tournament will be the Cloverdale A1s, the South Delta A1s, the Langley A1s, the Abbotsford A1s, the Kent Valley A1s, the Seattle A1s and the North West Zone Renegades from Edmonton.
The 10 teams will be broken down into two divisions with the top two teams from each advancing to the semifinals.
The NSWC Peewee A1s go into the tournament with an 11-2 record in league play but those two losses came in their final two games before the break.
The tournament final goes Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m.
FEMALE HOCKEY NOTES
Midget C1
The North Shore Winter Club Female Midget C1s continue to struggle. Through 10 league games, the team is still without a win and has complied a record of 0-9-1. The C1s lone tie came against the Surrey Female Midget As who they tied 3-3 in their second league game.
Midget C2
The NSWC Female Midget C2s season is turning around. After starting off league play by going 1-3-3 in their first seven games, the team has found consistency and has brought their record to 4-3-3 after 10 league games.
Bantam C1
The NSWC Female Bantam C1s’ season is going along a lot like the Female Midget C1s’. After nine league games, the team is searching for its first win as they sit with a record of 0-8-1. Offence has been hard to come by for the C1s as they’ve only scored three goals in their nine games. The one tie the team picked up was a 1-1 draw against the Tri Cities Female Bantam As.
Peewee C1
The NSWC Female Peewee C1s have maintained a perfect record through eight league games by going 7-0-1.
Atom C1
The NSWC Female Atom C1s continue to hover around the .500 mark. The C1s are 2-3 through five league games.
MIDGET DIVISION NOTES
The North Shore Winter Club Midget A1s will be playing in the Richmond International Midget Tournament over the Christmas break.
The A1s will open up the tournament Dec. 26 against North Delta.
The team is 9-4-2 through 15 league games.
Meanwhile, the NSWC Midget A2s are 3-8-1 in league play.
The NSWC Midget Hawks are 6-8-2 in league play.
|