By Mark Sweeney /
The 2010 NARCh Winternationals in San Jose, CA proved to be another medal haul for B.C. teams.
After a tough three-game round robin portion of the event, the Westcoast Warriors Mite team qualified for the Silver Division semi-finals against the HC Mission Hawks from California.
The Warriors pulled off a solid 4-1 victory to advance to the Championship Game against the Islanders from Hawaii. The Islanders, top Silver Division seed, won their semifinal game in convincing fashion, 6-0 over AKS 2000 from Southern California.
The Finals proved to be a classic as both teams were hungry for the Gold Medal. The Langley-based Warriors jumped out to 2-0 lead and dominated the first half. The Islanders, however, were not going to go down easy and scored three minutes into the second period to cut the lead in half.
This goal seemed to spark both teams as the Warriors came back and scored 30 seconds later to make it a two-goal lead again. The Islanders didn’t quit though, as they came right back down the floor 25 seconds later to bring the game to within one. This end-to-end action continued for the last half of the second period and saw a flurry of action, coming right down to the last shot.
The Islanders’ valiant comeback saw a shot clang off the iron crossbar with three seconds left to play and the Warriors were able to skate off with the victory and the championship. |