The Ridge Meadows Rustlers are hosting the U15 Tier 1 hockey provincial championships, and the host team won big in its first two games of the tournament.
The Rustlers hosted the opening ceremonies on Sunday night, March 15, and then started their tournament play with an 8-2 win over the East Kootenay Avalance.
They followed that up with a 12-2 blowout of the North Vancouver on Monday night, to take the lead in their four-team pool.
Team captain Carter Cavan leads the team in scoring with four goals and seven points, which is second in the tournament. Hudson Hobbs is right behind him with four goals and six points, and Ryan O’Farrrell has two goals and five points.
The Rustlers will play the Omaha Central Regional squad on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m., and then advance to Wednesday’s playoff round.
The top two teams from each of the two pools advance, with semi-final games scheduled to be played at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. that morning. Then the evenign will bring the medals rounds, with the bronze game at 5 p.m., and the provincial championship at 8 p.m.
All games will be played at Cam Neely Arena in Planet Ice.
The top eight teams from around the province are vying 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.
The event featured 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.