BWC Academy (3) vs RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna (4) U15 Prep
Kyle Obobaifo (2G) opened the scoring 12:04 into the first period, scoring the first goal of the U15 Prep Western Championships. Justin Moon extended the lead 2:10 later. Kesler Hamilton (2G) got RHA Kelowna on the board and within one 53 seconds later, as the first period ended 2-1. Hudson Podollan (1G, 1A) tied the game 4:28 into the second and Hamilton put RHA Kelowna ahead midway through the period with a power play goal. Obobaifo tied the game minutes later with a power play goal of his own. Brady Keith was the hero for RHA Kelowna, scoring with 3:53 left to play to give his team a 4-3 victory. Asher Netherton (24/27) made 24 saves in the win.
Okanagan Hockey Academy Black (4) vs Pilot Mound Hockey Academy (5) Female U18 Prep Consolation
After a scoreless first Heidi Danners (2G) scored on the power play 5:29 into the second. Emma Asplund added to the lead three minutes later before Sophia Makokis (3G, 1A) responded for OHA Black just 45 seconds later. Piper Miller and Dannners scored power play goals to round out the second and give PMHA a 4-1 lead. Makokis scored 16 seconds into the third and Hayden Wild added a goal midway through the frame to bring OHA Black within one. Ashlyn Kuffler scored the eventual game winner, while shorthanded, with 2:26 left to play. Makokis would score on the same power play to complete the hat-trick and bring OHA Black within one but they were unable to find an equaliser. Brooklynn Adams (45/49)
Northern Alberta Xtreme (0) vs South Alberta Hockey Academy (7) Female U18 Prep Consolation
Tayler Cohen (27/27) made 27 saves and SAHA beat Ava Antle (27/34) 7 times to claim a lopsided victory in their opening game of the consolation bracket. Brianna Finke (3G), recorded a hat-trick while Addison Eurich (4A) and Keira Grant (2G, 2A) each had four points. Keyana Bert (1G, 1A) and Kamryn Reiber (1G, 2A) scored the other goals for SAHA.
OHA Edmonton (3) vs Edge School (8) U15 Prep
Domonic Neville (1G, 1A) opened the scoring 3:39 into the first to give OHA Edmonton the initial lead. Jordin St. Louis (2G, 1A) responded 3:11 later to tie the game and Walker Filewich and Matthew Hilderman (2G, 1A) traded goals to close out the first. Mirco Dufour (1G, 1A) gave Edge their first lead 6:31 into the second with a shorthanded goal. Ben Oliverio (1G, 2A) doubled the lead heading into the third. Edge opened the floodgates in the third as James Matheos (1G, 1A) scored his first, Adam Halat (1G, 2A) scored 54 seconds later, St. Louis added a power play goal 2:07 after that, and Hilderman scored his second less than three minutes after that. A great individual effort by Keenan Fox (1G, 1A) would see OHA Edmonton score a late consolation goal in what ended as an 8-3 Edge victory.
Delta Hockey Academy Black (2) vs Shawnigan Lake School (6) Female U18 Prep
Delta Black led 1-0 after 20 as Eden Hamel found the back of the net with 3:13 left in the first. The second belonged to Shawnigan as Gracie Szadkowski, Grace Cooper (1G, 1A) and Anya Porter all found the back of the net. Morgan Jackson (2G, 2A) kept the ball rolling with a shorthanded goal early in the third before Kira Bui halted the run. Mya Lawrence (1G, 2A) counted for Shawnigan a few minutes later and Jackson added an empty net goal to secure a 6-2 victory. Alexandra Nelson (22/24) made 22 saves in net for Shawnigan.
BWC Academy White (6) vs Shawnigan Lake School (3) Tier III U17 Prep Tier 3 Championship
With a 6-3 win over Shawnigan Lake School, BWC Academy White captured the programs third ever Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) Western Championship Saturday.
Dominic Seminoff (2G) opened the scoring just 55 seconds in, beating Will Stonehouse glove side with a wrist shot off the rush. Mark Lee (1G, 3A) extended the lead midway through the period with a fantastic display of puck skills, leading to his fifth goal of the tournament. Nigel Alberts (2G) went bar-down late in the first to get Shawnigan on the board and within one.
The second period would start with Lee finding Gabriel Kaminski (1G, 1A) all alone for the backdoor tap-in before Brandon Burns scored a breakaway goal 1:40 later. Alberts countered just five seconds later for Shawnigan but Lee would make another great pass, this time to set-up Seminoff, for his second goal of the game 32 seconds after the Alberts tally. Ethan Naus scored his third of the Championships with 3:01 left in the period to bring Shawnigan within two heading into the third.
A tight checking third period saw Shawnigan tally six shots to BWC Academy White’s five, but an Oleksii Zhekov power play goal with 6:14 remaining secured the BWC Academy White victory.
Josh Wu (31/34) made 31 saves in net, once again standing tall between the pipes. Will Stonehouse (14/20) faced 20 shots in the loss.
BWC Academy’s other CSSHL Western Championships came at the U18 Prep level in 2022 and U16 Prep in 2017.
Okanagan Hockey Academy (0) vs Delta Hockey Academy Green (3) Female U18 Prep
Jillian Matthews (23/23) made 23 saves as Delta Green shutout OHA in their opening game of the 2024 CSSHL Female U18 Prep Western Championships. Molly Cole opened the scoring with a power play goal in the first, Sadie Isfeld extended the lead in the second, and Kismet Dogan added an empty net goal with 1:23 left to play. Jorja Moore (40/42) faced 42 shots in the loss.
North Shore Warriors (4) vs RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg (6) U15 Prep
With a helping hand from Ethan Mah (2G) and Peter Banicevic, the Warriors were able to establish a three goal advantage over RHA Winnipeg before the halfway point of the contest. However, in the final five minutes of play in the middle frame, RHA Winnipeg exploded for three quick goals to tie things up before the start of the third. Drayden Uhrina (1G, 3A) had chipped in on all three. Come the third, momentum would sway back and forth until Thunder Bay, ON native Jake Ritson (2G, 1A) winded up in his own zone and carried the puck end-to-end before wiring home the go ahead goal for RINK. North Shore would push back with the net pulled, but Isaac Sousa buried one into the empty cage to seal off this contest. Despite the loss, Oscar Hicik (56/61) made 56-saves in goal for the Warriors.
St. Mary’s Academy (0) vs RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna (14) Female U18 Prep
Alida Korte (4G, 1A) scored four times and Chloe Primerano (2G, 4A) led all skaters with six points as RHA Kelowna defeated St. Mary’s 14-0. Emelia McDermid (2G, 3A) chipped in with five points while defenseman Danica Maynard (4A) tallied four assists. Madison Bowtell (11/11) faced just 11 shots in the shutout victory. Sasah Coutu (45/59) was peppered with 59 shots in the St. Mary’s net.
Ontario Hockey Academy Prep (4) vs CIH Academy Green (2) Eastern U18
Oliver Nilsgaard opened the scoring 1:49 into the contest with his 20th goal of the season. Andrew Mark tied the game shortly after but goals from Takanobu Hiraga (1G, 1A), Cole Shepherdson and Nilsgaard (2G) gave OHA Prep a 4-1 lead heading into the second. Jeremy Bessette (1G, 1A) scored the lone second period goal as CIH Green drew within two. Oliver Kiraly (27/29) made 12 saves in the third as OHA Prep survived the late CIH Academy Green push to earn the 4-2 victory. Maxime Giguere (23/27) made 23 saves in the loss.
Notre Dame (1) vs St. George’s School (16) U15 Prep
Brock Cripps (2G, 4A), Jacob Schwartz (3G, 3A) and Louis Oscar Holowaychuk (2G, 4A) all recorded six point efforts over Notre Dame in their playoff opener. Jason Gao (4G, 1A) and Eddy Spytz (3G, 2A) were also heavy contributors in the victory. Kain Martiniuk (4A), Daniel Taylor (1G, 2A) and Jack Poole (1G, 2A) were the other notable providers while Cash Christie (25/27) picked up the easy win between the pipes.
Yale Hockey Academy (2) vs Northern Alberta Xtreme (7) U15 Prep
Ben Harvey (1G, 1A) got NAX on the board first with a greasy goal in close, but the star of the opening frame was none other than Yale’s goaltender Tyson Kuiack (45/52) making a cluster of high-end stops to keep Yale’s deficit at a minimum. However, NAX would find their scoring touch in the second as Jaggar John (1G, 2A) and Thayne Wasyluk (2G, 1A) earned a pair of goals under two minutes in. Gavin Bradley would strike back with one for Yale, but NAX’s offence continued to prevail through the rest of the contest. Blake Chorney (1G, 1A) and Aidan Poulin would add another couple in the third, helping NAX secure their first win of the playoffs.
Okanagan Hockey Academy (3) vs Delta Hockey Academy Green (6) U15 Prep
Trey Tourigny got the scoring started in favour of OHA just over two minutes into play with a wicked wrister from the top of the left circle. Just under a minute later, Delta Green’s Kishan Saggu (1G, 1A) would respond with a snipe of his own after waltzing over OHA’s blueline, beating Alex Youngson over his left shoulder. Delta Green would follow up with two more in the first as Prince George, BC’s Wyatt Callander (2G, 1A) gave them the initial lead. Daniel Havard would add the second with 39-seconds left in the frame. Callander added the lone goal in the second, while the third saw OHA opening up with two quick goals to try and spark a comeback. However, Jack Morgan (2G) benefited on a loose puck in front, adding to Delta Green’s lead and ultimately putting things out of reach for OHA. Morgan would go on to add the empty netter and seal the win for Delta Green.
RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg (2) vs Edge School (5) Female U18 Prep
RHA Winnipeg opened the scoring after Katie Anhalt found the back of the net, but a second period surge from Edge changed the trajectory of this contest. Hannah Deck tied the game early in the second, putting RHA Winnipeg back on their heels. This was shortly followed up by a solo effort from Marin Jugnauth that saw some fortune as the puck deflected off an RHA Winnipeg defender and in. April Klarenbach and Brooklyn Deck (2G) would secure the next two for Edge, helping their academy establish a 4-1 lead after forty minutes of play. Tori Bear would claw one back for RINK, but B. Deck would supply another goal for Edge en route to an important playoff victory.