Nelson Minor Hockey’s peweee house team hosted a 12-team tournament this weekend, and came out of with two wins and two losses. Coach Dean Centrone said the Leafs were in top-form.
“It was a great weekend. The kids improved every game,” said Centrone. “This is one of the biggest tournaments for Nelson Minor Hockey. We had teams from all over.”
Teams traveled from communities across the interior of BC, including Creston, Castlegar, Kelowna, and the Tri-Cities of Washington State, to play at the Nelson and District Community Centre arena.
“They were doing everything that we have been working on in practice, from clearing our zone, battling for the puck, great passing and some beauty goals.”
The four Leafs’ MVPs of the tournament were Ben Thast, Callum Cutler, Nikko Lazier and Josh Marsden.
The first game pitting the team against the Castlegar Giants, resulting in a 4-1 loss.
“Our goal was scored by Callum Cutler. MVP was Ben Thast. Ben played amazing as this was his fourth game ever as a goalie,” he said.
The second game was played against the Tri-Cities Thunder. The Leafs thrashed their opponents with a 4-1 victory.
Next they faced the Kelowna Chiefs. The game was a neck-to-neck race, resulting in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss.
“Game three was a thriller: down by three with six minutes to go, the kids turned it on, scoring two goals a couple minutes apart,” said Centrone.
“Then, with two minutes left, two kids battling for the puck, we take a penalty. They didn’t give up though. They kept working right ‘til the end.”
Nick Haydu, Seamus Boyd, Jack Centrone and Callum Cutler scored during the game.
Finally the Leafs went up against the Kelowna Spartans for seventh place on Sunday.
“The kids were tired and sore but played the best game of the tournament.”
They won 4-0, with Callum Cutler scoring two goals and Pax Arrowsmith and Seamus Boyd contributing one apiece.
“This was Josh’s best game of the season,” said Centrone. He praised the entire team’s performance.
“Basically, they were working on positional play, trying to get the puck out of our end. They were moving the puck forward and working hard,” he said.
In the final, Creston beat the Grand Forks Grizzlies 4-3 in overtime to win the tournament.