The puck dropped on the third week of the Major Midget League season a bit early, with a rare Friday game in Kamloops between Thompson and Kootenay on October 3rd.
Other games took place in Kelowna, Prince George, Victoria, Nanaimo, Coquitlam, and Abbotsford, providing lots of MML action around the province on October 4th and 5th. Here’s a recap of the ten (10) MML games that took place this weekend.
Thompson Blazers vs. Kootenay Ice
Game 1: Thompson 1, Kootenay 3
Game 2: Thompson 2, Kootenay 7
Game one was a back-and-forth affair, with Kootenay’s Matthew Alderson scoring late in the first period. Thompson’s Tyler Collens scored near the end of the second, but the Ice’s Kadrian Klimchuk scored with just 46 seconds left in the frame.
Justin Podgorenko got the insurance goal for the Ice midway through the third, helping Kootenay to the 3-1 win. The second game wasn’t quite as close, with Kootenay exploding for seven (7) goals.
Thompson’s Bennett Hunter and Jordan Rea each contributed a goal, but couldn’t stop the onslaught from Kootenay. Ellis Junker (2), Christian Macasso, Keaton Roch, Evan Gorman, Karsten Jang (2) scored for the Ice.
Okanagan Rockets vs. Vancouver Northwest Giants
Game 1: Okanagan 1, Vancouver NW 4
Game 2: Okanagan 1, Vancouver NW 3
The Giants travelled to Kelowna and managed to steal two (2) wins from the Rockets at home, who were previously undefeated in 22 regular season games in their home arena.
The Giants opened the scoring and stayed in control the entire game, with Nash Dabb, Keegan Jones, Ryland Chernomaz, and Josh Latta each netting goals. Lucas Cullen scored the lone goal for Okanagan. Game 2 proved to be a similar story, with the Rockets’ Sam Binfet scoring the lone Okanagan goal and Wilson Northey, Callahan Brebner, and Jones scoring for the Giants.
Cariboo Cougars vs. Greater Vancouver Canadians
Game 1: Cariboo 2, Greater Vancouver 3
Game 2: Cariboo 3, Greater Vancouver 2
Greater Vancouver made the trip to Prince George for a closely contested pair of games against Cariboo. Game 1 saw the Canadians take the lead with a first period goal by Michael Tilbury, along with a power play goal early in the second by Kyle Uy. However, the Cougars battled back, with Austin Gray scoring a goal late in the second and Joel Patsey scoring a short-handed goal early in the third to tie it up.
However, Greater Vancouver was able to seal it up with a late power play goal by Ryan Wilkinson to take the win. Game 2 was extremely similar, but with different outcomes for the teams.
The Canadians scored first thanks to a goal from Owen Seidel, but Cariboo’s Wesley Shipton answered in the second period. Greater Vancouver’s Gary Dhaliwal got the second goal, but the Cougars’ Todd Bredo scored in the second period to tie it up, and Darren Hards got the winning goal on the power play with just over a minute remaining in the game for Cariboo to take Game 2.
After this weekend, Greater Vancouver’s Kyle Uy is still at the top of the leaderboard for points, with five (5) goals and eight (8) assists for a total of 13 points in six (6) games.
South Island Royals vs. North Island Silvertips
Game 1: South Island 3, North Island 1
Game 2: South Island 9, North Island 2
South Island and North Island played a home-and-home, playing the first game in Victoria and the second in Nanaimo. The first game saw North Island’s Owen Hardy score first, but South Island got goals from Tyler Preziuso, Cam Thompson, and Kayden Peck to seal the win.
In the second game, the Silvertips mustered two (2) goals thanks to efforts from Brett Stapley and Nico Somerville, but the Royals exploded for nine (9) goals to get the win. South Island’s Preziuso got a hat trick , Brandon Tutte netted two (2) goals, and Tanner Sidaway, Cam Thompson, Ben Berard, and Kayden Peck also added to the scoring.
Vancouver Northeast Chiefs vs. Fraser Valley Thunderbirds
Game 1: Vancouver NE 9, Fraser Valley 6
Game 2: Vancouver NE 4, Fraser Valley 4
Game 1 saw a shootout in Coquitlam, with the two teams combining to score a whopping 15 goals. The game was tied 6-6 after two periods, but the Chiefs scored three (3) goals in the final period to take Game 1.
Jamie Housch, Kaelen Anderson, Kyle Bosko, Davin Padgham (2), and Danny Choi scored for the Thunderbirds, while San Chung, Jeffrey Wong, Matthew Davis, Brandon Armstrong, Thomas Semple, Caleb Fantillo (2), Ronnie Wilkie, and Devon Stafford scored for the Chiefs.
Game 2 still saw plenty of scoring, with both teams scoring four (4) goals to see the game end in a 4-4 tie in Abbotsford. Chung, Armstrong, Matthew Davis, and Ziyan Karim scored for Fraser Valley, while the Chiefs got goals from Zac McKee, Brice Sharp, Mackenzie Wight, and Nic Ponak.
The BC Hockey Major Midget League was established in 2004 to provide elite level 15, 16 and 17 year olds an opportunity to play within their own age group at a high level and be developed for the next level of hockey. These teams have an opportunity each year to compete for the National Midget Championship.