What an exciting month March was!  A week of championships from Pee Wee to Midget, month long Junior A and Junior B playoffs, weekends of Major Midget Championships and Regionals.....

A HUGE congratulations to all who took part in making the Championships a unbelievable success! From players who showed some great class and sportsmanship to the volunteers who put in long hours to make sure all had a superior time.

Want to be featured in the next BC Hockey monthly newsletter? We are always looking to hear from you! Does your association have an upcoming event that the membership should know about? Or have you recently hosted an exciting event and want to tell us about it?

Enjoy!

Everyone who completes the survey will be entered to win a BC Hockey swag bag.  Winners will be announced April 17, 2015.

Click here to complete the survey

Everyone who completes the survey will be entered to win a BC Hockey swag bag. Winners will be announced April 17, 2015.

At the Midget Tier 2 Championships in Trail, Novice players skated out each participating team as part of the opening ceremonies. Noah was chosen to skate with the Smithers Midget team, holding a sign, introducing the team. Even though he wasn't skating with his home team (Greater Trail), he couldn't be happier!

Noah went to every Smithers game during the Championships, cheering loud for "his team." Smithers played in the third/fourth place game, which of course Noah was at. The team looked into the stands for their number one fan, and there he was.  Standing proud holding his 'Smithers' sign for all to see. This time, it was covered in the players autographs! Noah was beaming!

After Smithers won third place, they called Noah to be included in their team picture. Afterwards, him and his mom headed to the dressing room so Noah could say good bye to his team. That night, Noah slept happily knowing his team were champs in his eyes!

"Way to go boys! On and off the ice you are all champs! I had one very happy and very tired little boy," said Noah's mom.

The Inuvik Ice Bears from the Northwest Territories flew over 3,100 km last month to participate in the 2015 North Delta Pee Wee C Spring Classic at Sungod Arena. This was the first trip out of the territory for all the players and they were beyond thrilled to be at the tournament!

The 14 player roster consisted of six (6) girls and eight (8) boys who only played scrimmages amongst themselves back home. They were competitive throughout the tournament and one game even went to an exciting shootout!

All other participating teams were so happy to see them at the tourney and were all hoping to play against them. Lots of players, coaches and parents just wanted to stay, watch them play and say hi.

In addition, one of the tournament sponsors, Sports Unlimited, donated hockey socks to the entire Inuvik team! The North Delta membership didn't stop there, they collected $450 between the four (4) North Delta Pee Wee C teams so they could treat the team to dinner!

When Kamryn Grooms found out she won the opportunity to skate with the Vancouver Canucks she couldn't believe what she heard. She was in shock for at least 15 minutes before it sunk in and she began asking her mom a hundred questions! "I barely slept that night because I was so excited and a bit nervous too," Kamryn said. "I counted down every sleep from that day until March 24th. It was almost like waiting for Christmas!"

Wonder what it's like on the ice with NHL players? "They are so big! Normally I'm one of the tallest players on the ice, but not that night," said Kamryn.

What was your favorite part of the night? 'When I was given the signal by security to lead the Canucks out onto the ice. I was so nervous but it all went away the minute I stepped on the ice. The fact that one of the Sedin's gave me a thumbs up while waiting to go on was pretty cool too! I just wish I could tell which one it was because they look so much alike it was hard to tell!"

About 15 family members attended the game to watch their little young star make her skating debut with the Canucks. This was a night she'll never forget!

Not every player or family in BC has the opportunity to experience championships during their minor hockey career. What's ever rarer is having every sibling in one family qualify for championships at some point. The rarest of all: all siblings attend championships in the same year. This is what the Fortune family experienced this year.

Jamie, Jack and Tre Fortune play for different teams with the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association.  Jamie (17) plays with the Midget Tier 3 team who traveled to Dawson Creek; Jack (13) attended Championships in Port Hardy as a Bantam Tier 3 player and Tre (11) plays with the Pee Wee Tier 3 team who headed to Terrace for the tournament. 

 

Click here to read the Fortune story.

 

Photo credit: Paul Eby - OK Photo Lab

The Vancouver Angels Pee Wee A team (and friends) took part in the Scotiabank/Vancouver Canucks Game Changer Program when the girls played the boys hockey team from the Canucks Autism Network (CAN).

It was a special moment for everyone at the Britannia rink, to witness the first ever game of competitive hockey by the boys from CAN as they prepared for their upcoming tournament in Vernon.

The game was filmed and highlights were shown on the jumbrotron at Rogers Arena during the Canucks / Flyers game. The Angels attended the game thanks to the generosity of the Canucks and the staff of the Fraser Street and 49th Avenue branch of Scotiabank.

The purpose for CAN is to teach basic hockey skills to children and youth with autism in a safe and supportive environment.

For more pictures, check out the Vancouver Angels Ice Hockey Facebook page.

After two rounds of voting and many sore fingers later, Panorama Rec Centre Arena B in North Saanich was named the Kraft Hockeyville winner!  Panorama was packed with over 500 people for the announcement, all who erupted into screams, cheering, whistling and banging of thunder sticks.

The facility was awarded with $100,000 in arena upgrades and will host the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks in a NHL pre-season game.

Winning the Kraft Hockeyville contest will allow the arena to have a dedicated locker room for the Junior B Peninsula Panthers, who are currently the only Junior team without one, as well as meeting, office and storage space for Peninsula Minor Hockey.

North Saanich beat out Chatham-Kent, Ontario with a vote of approximately 1.1 million to 670,000 to win the annual contest celebrating Canadian communities.

Winning a championship is one thing. Having three (3) generations in one family win the same championship is another. The Wilkie family has done just that. Three (3) generations of their family have won the Cromie Memorial Cup, the Major Midget League (MML) Championship, dating back to the 1940s. Ron Hemmerling, John Hemmerling and Ronnie Wilkie all share the memory of winning the championship and having their names on the admired trophy.

Click here to read the full Hemmerling/Wilkie story.

VANCOUVER ANGELS & BURNABY WILDCATS COME TRY HOCKEY SESSION

Skates are designed with specific technology features that work with the construction components of the boot, holder and runner. Knowing how to identify the areas of a hockey skate will not only help you understand how key technologies work in tandem with your foot, but will also help you achieve the perfect fit for maximum power and performance.

The basic structural elements of a skate are:

• The Toe Box are is at the front of the skate and covered by the Toe Cap, which is made of hard material to protect the toes from pucks, slashes and skate blades
• The Mid Foot area covers the ball of the foot to in front of the heel, along the side of foot. The Quarter Package is the shell of the boot, which holds the padding and inserts, and is made of thermo-moldable materials that can be heated, stretched and punched to attain a perfect git with no pressure points
• The Heel cradles the back of the foot and heel, and needs to be fit snugly so that there is no slippage, which causes a loss of energy and power, and can also cause blistering from friction. Rising up from the back of the heel to over the top of the ankle is the Tendon Guard, which protects the Achilles tendon from skate slashes.
• The Runner or Blade can be sharpened or contoured to provide bite for fast turns, and glide for speed
• The Holder attaches the runner to the outsole, and is made of lightweight but strong plastics for durability and stability
• The Outsole is the rigid underside of the skate boot. To keep the skate light, higher end models often have vent holes in the outsole to allow the moisture created by sweat o evacuate from the inside of the boot
• The Eyelet Stays hold the laces in place for even tension
• Available in different thicknesses for comfort, the Tongue protects the top of the foot from the laces, as well as impacts and cute
• Liners are designed to wick moisture for comfort and keep the foot secured within the boot
• The Footbed is on the bottom inside of the boot, and protects the sole of your foot from the rivet heads that attach the holder to the bottom of the boot. Insoles, such as SuperFeet, are recommended to put the foot in a neutral position and eliminate negative space with the skate to maximize energy transfer from the foot to the blade.