The Whistler U13 Winterhawks continue to roll through the competition this season with another impressive tournament win at the Sunshine Coast Winter Classic last weekend.
But unlike the Icebreaker tournament in Richmond in late November, this tournament proved to be their toughest competition yet with the Winterhawks winning four one-goal games.
“Three of those [one-goal] were games decided in the 3rd period,” said head coach David Metcalf. “In our last four games, our opponents pulled their goalies in the dying minutes for the extra player advantage, which added even more excitement to an already-charged atmosphere. Great hockey to watch.”
In the one-goal games, the Winterhawks’ game-winning goals were scored by four different players including Blake Pomroy, Ollie DeMarco, Josh Wright, and the Nick Gilmore with the golden goal.
Goaltender Connor Haig also had multiple stand-out performances including a 1-0 shutout win against the Vancouver Thunderbirds.
“In our toughest pool match, a 5-4 win against Surrey, the lead changed hands four times. Our team never took their foot off the pedal and gave it all they had as Surrey was fighting for a potential gold-medal berth,” said Metcalf. “The team also showed great discipline, averaging under five minutes of penalties per game.”
Metcalf said the coaching staff recognized Josh Wright as the tournament MVP for “going over and above every shift to help bring home the championship.”
