Peewee Rockets finish 2nd at provincial tourney
The Kelowna Peewee Tier 3 (B) Rockets capped off an extraordinary season on Friday by finishing second at the BC Hockey provincial championship.
The week-long tournament, held in Summerland, saw 10 of the top peewee tier-3 teams from across the province compete for the championship.
The Rockets advanced to the championship game by going undefeated in the prequalifying tournament held in Ashcroft and Logan Lake, edging out strong teams from across the region.
Kelowna then secured a birth at provincials by defeating the Winfield Bruins in a tight best-of-three series.
The Rockets started the provincial tournament by finishing second in their pool after going 3-1 in round-robin play, defeating teams from Alberni Valley, Vancouver and Castlegar, and only losing to a strong team from Dawson Creek.
The semifinal game saw the Rockets play Langley, who finished first in their pool, for a birth in the final.
“It was the matchup we wanted,” said assistant coach David Metvedt. “We felt that out of the top teams in the tournament going through, Langley gave us our best chance to advance to the final, but we knew we had to play our best.”
The Rockets beat Langley 7-6 in a thrilling game that saw Kelowna score the winning goal with just over a minute left.
The championship game pitted Kelowna against Terrace, with Terrace coming out on top to take the provincial title.
“As a group, we set a goal of winning the OMAHA championship this year,” said head coach Jeremy King. “We knew that goal was within our reach, but finishing second at provincials is truly remarkable. We are so proud of what our team has accomplished.”
The Rockets won 11 of their 14 playoff games to get to the provincials following a successful regular season.
This is the first time in seven years that a Kelowna peewee tier-3 team has advanced to the BC Hockey provincial championship and the first time ever that a team from Kelowna has advanced to the final.