By Mary Kline, Revelstoke Minor Hockey
The Revelstoke Bantams hosted their home tournament this from November 13-15. The tournament filled with eight teams, including Revelstoke. Fortunately the highways stayed open and the teams traveling from the east made it safely through the winter storm, arriving at the arena to enjoy a great weekend of hockey. Visiting teams included Kelowna, Salmon Arm, Golden, Invermere, Lake Bonavista, Glenlake and Okotoks.
The first game of the tournament on Friday saw Revelstoke take a 7-4 win over Golden. The seven goals were scored by six players: Michael Miertsch, Jacob Ancell, Rory Christie-Hoyle, Callum Gribbon, Sammy LeRose and Lane Bull.
Revelstoke goaltender Domenic Donato earned himself a shut out against Salmon Arm later that day with Revelstoke winning 8-0. Matthew Scarcella and Hayden Mallet helped keep Revelstoke on the scoreboard with goals and assists in this game.
On Saturday, Revelstoke came off the bench hard and ended with a 10-2 win against Lake Bonavista. Cohen Lussier and James LeBuke helped keep the offensive line up strong earning both goals and assists in this game.
Revelstoke went into Sunday and the semi-finals undefeated. The Bantam’s strong defensive line up of Conner Templeton, Tyson Sessa, Lane Bull, Rory Christie-Hoyle and Ben MacDonald successfully fought to keep the play out of our end all day.
During the Invermere game, Christie-Hoyle was quick to get Revelstoke on the scoreboard, netting the first four goals. The game went back and forth between Revelstoke and Invermere, keeping the fans on the edge of their seats. With 28 seconds to go in the third period, David Kline scored to give Revelstoke a 7-6 win.
Revelstoke went into the final championship game in front of a packed arena. It was another close game as Revelstoke battled to a 3-2 win to take their home tournament and the gold! Jayke Coueffin earned himself two assists on Revelstoke's three goals.
The parents and coaches are proud of how hard the team worked and the sportsmanship the boys showed over the weekend to the visiting teams. A big thank you to the coaching staff, the parent volunteers, the community fans who came out to support the team and the businesses and organizations that helped sponsor the tournament.