The Maple Ridge Rustlers U15 A1 team will have a shot at winning a provincial championship on home ice in the coming week.
Starting Sunday, the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association will host the BC Hockey U15 Tier 1 Championships, from March 14 to 18, at Planet Ice.
The top eight teams from around the province will vie for a championship, and the hosts are as good a bet as any. The Rustlers won their regular season banner with an impressive record of 21-1, and then lost in the playoff final to North Shore in a 4-3 game. But the minor hockey pundits say it’s wide open for a team to get hot and take the banner.
“This year, there is no clear favourite, but the Pacific Coast is always strong,” said Jordan Emmerson, general manager of Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey.
The association hasn’t hosted one of BC Hockey’s showcase tournaments since the U-13 championships in 2021, and he said Ridge’s provincials committee has done a phenomenal job of organizing what will be a lifetime memory for the kids involved.
The event features a Saturday night welcome banquet for the players, coaches and team officials, with the keynote speaker Aaron Volpatti, who is a former Vancovuer Canuck and Washington Capitals player, and an author.
Sunday will bring opening ceremonies from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. at Cam Neely Arena, followed by a game featuring the hosts against the East Kootenay Avalanche.
Ridge will then play March 16 and 17 at Cam Neely, facing North Van and Omaha Central respectively. The puck drops at 6:15 p.m. both nights.
After three round-robin games, the semi-finals and finals will be played on March 18, with the championship game set for 8 p.m.
Competing are:
• East Kootenay Avalanche
• North East Trackers
• Ridge Meadows Rustlers
• West Kootenay Crusaders
• Nanaimo Clippers
• Central Zone Rockets
• North Vancouver Minor
• North Shore Winter Club