By Rob Serrouya, Revelstoke Minor Hockey
Preparations are in full swing for Revelstoke Minor Hockey to host the Bantam Tier 4 Provincial Championships in March. The banquet venue has been booked at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, hotels have been reserved well in advance due to the busy season, and Aaron Volpatti has generously agreed to be the keynote speaker at the banquet on March 19. Volpatti is a local boy who played for the Vanouver Canucks and the Washington Capitals from 2010 to 2014. The theme of his talk will center on how a kid from a small tier four association can still make the big league.
Games begin on Monday, March 20, and will run through the week, with most of our team's games occurring at around 5 p.m. to encourage local attendance. Please come out and support our kids!
The Bantams (aged 13-14) are enjoying a successful season, with 22 wins and one loss, including tournament wins in Winfield, Golden and at home. The Winfield tournament was especially exciting because of a third period comeback in the final where our Grizzlies were down 4-1. Grady Powell tied the game with 1:02 remaining and captain Sammy LeRose scored the winner in overtime in front of Winfield's home crowd.
LeRose said this was the hardest tournament of his hockey career: "It felt great just to get the breakaway and the last goal in overtime."
When asked what he thought about the team's chances at Provincials, LeRose said: "Our team is really skilled and we're gonna put lots of pressure on the other teams.
"I think we'll have a really good [home ice] advantage and I'm looking forward to playing the better teams. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
The team was in Golden for a tournament last weekend. They defeated Invermere 6-0 in the final for their third tournament win of the season.
The next regular season home games are on January 21 at 1:30 p.m. and January 22 at 9:10 a.m.
The Revelstoke Bantam Grizzlies thank all volunteers, sponsors and businesses who are helping to fund this event. Please contact coach Steve Bull (styletrend@telus.net) for more information or how to help.