4.4°C Fog Patches 
Whistler Minor Hockey Association teams are powering through their playoff rounds, skating toward the top of the standings with exciting battles along the way.
Whistler’s Bantam co-ed team has racked up an impressive five wins and one tie thus far in the playoffs for their Lions Gate C league, including a big 4-1 win on Saturday (Jan. 30) over a tough Hollyburn team that finished near the top of the standings in regular-season play.
Coach Joey Ewing said his hardworking players have winning on their mind, as they’ve had one goal since the start of the season: bringing home the Lions Gate championship banner. He said he expects a lot out of the team, because it has “a lot of talented kids” in its ranks, and he’s been impressed by the players’ maturity, work ethic and improvement throughout the season.
“The kids all work hard and know their positions and their roles on the team. They all do their roles perfectly,” Ewing said, adding that the camaraderie among the teammates is great to see.
With 24 players, the team had to sit out four skaters per game, and yet no one ever complained about a lack of ice time or having to sit, Ewing said, noting that this is “a bunch of great kids.”
Knowing that they would face the tough Hollyburn team on Saturday in the city, the players “focused and practiced” and listened well, Ewing said. When the puck dropped, the team went in and executed its game plan, and came away with the convincing 4-1 win.
They followed that up with a 4-4 tie against a North Vancouver club on Sunday (Jan. 31), where the Whistler players dug deep to rebound in the third period after falling behind 4-1. Ewing said that was a “good effort for the kids,” and they’re spending this week working hard to prepare to face a strong North Shore Winter Club team that beat them twice in the regular season.
Ewing expects the team will advance to the championship finals.
The team’s two female players, Emina Ida and Georgia Baker, have qualified to represent their zone on the B.C. Winter Games Bantam girls’ team, Ida as a starter and Baker as an alternate, chosen from a pool of more than 100 girls. And some of the Whistler Bantam team’s top forwards — Wyatt Fellows, Ryan Grills and Grant Iles — made it onto the roster with the Titans, a competitive rep team in the city that starts play after the Olympics.
The Midget rep team, coached by Mike Borrelli, produced what was probably its best game of the season on Jan. 24 to stay alive in their must-win playoff rounds. After battling to a tie against a Vancouver minor hockey club, with no overtime allowed, the Sunday rematch produced a win for the Whistler team.
“The guys just played and battled for the whole entire game,” Borrelli said. Jesse Melamed had a “huge game” in the 2-1 victory, he said, as Melamed scored both goals before suffering a laceration above the knee that will keep him out for two to four weeks.
Taylor Beattie, Jonas Horvath, Brendan Lee and Lindsey LeBlanc also delivered in the critical game, Borrelli said, with LeBlanc shifting to defence and playing “one of his best games of the season.”
Goalies Evan Macalister and Geoff Martin stood tall between the pipes in both games, Borrelli said. The win allowed them to move on to the third round of playoffs against a Langley team, and play started Monday (Feb. 1) in the round where the first team to earn four points will advance.
The Winterhawks are still alive in their pursuit of the provincial cup, and Borrelli said they are “still playing hard and practicing hard.”
The Bantam girls’ team won the first of its five playoff games in rousing fashion, battling back from a 3-1 deficit against a Tri-Cities team to win 4-3 after a third-period charge led by Georgia Astle.
“It was without a doubt the most exciting game the girls have had to date. Energy, enthusiasm and intensity game them the win,” parent and assistant coach Dave Sharpe wrote in an email.
They won their second game on Sunday (Jan. 31) and faced a physical battle in a challenging clash with the league-leading Richmond team on Monday. Richmond jumped out to a 1-0 lead that they maintained through the second period, before Sydney Jackson notched the equalizer for the Winterhawks early in the third.
Astle gave her team the lead with a shorthanded marker, and netminder Mackenzie Sharpe turned away 15 shots and charges to the net to preserve the victory.
The squad wraps up their round-robin play on Sunday (Feb. 7) at 10:30 a.m. at Meadow Park, and the top two teams after the round-robin playoffs will battle for the championship on Feb. 28.
Coaches, to submit other results and recaps, please contact Megan at mlivingston@whistlerquestion.com or (604) 932-5131.
