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| June 15, 2002
Vancouver Regional Results
|  The 6th Annual Vancouver Regional was once again one of the largest NARCh Regionals of 2002. Scott Hill reports on the tournament.
Cub Division
This was the first year where we saw the Cub division compete in the Langley NARCh Regional. Two teams participated: Prince George Timbits and Wild Selects. The teams participated in a 3-game series and both teams were awarded medals for their efforts. At the conclusion of the Final game both teams came together for a group photo. There were smiles on the faces of
players and parents alike watching these l’il guys and girls chase the puck around each game. We look forward to more big things from these players in the future.
Atom Division
Five teams competed for the Atom Division title. Wild Roller Hockey sent two teams, Westcoast Roller Hockey sent two teams and Prince George sent a team. Games were competitive and the skill level was the highest ever in this division. The Wild Selects and WC Warriors Red squared off in the Championship Final. The Wild were successful in shutting down division High
Scorer Mark McNeill on their way to a 5-2 victory.
Mite Division
Eight teams in two pools from BC and Oregon came to vie for NARCh honors. After preliminary round play the WC Predators took first in Pool A while the Wild Selects needed a last minute goal to clinch 1st in Pool B and a spot in the semi finals. The semi finals saw the PG Reapers knock off the Wild Selects and the WC Predators took out the WC Express 92 setting up a rematch in the Final. In the Mite Final, the Reapers were able to capitalize on a couple of Predator mistakes (own goals) and avenge their round-robin loss as they claimed the division title.
Squirt Division
Nine teams. The round-robin games saw a number of close games for many of the teams, and also saw two teams, Team Eagle and Wild Selects, emerge as the two powerhouses in the region. Both teams cruised through the round-robin and semi-finals undefeated setting up a highly skilled and fast-paced final. Eagle came out flying and controlled the play for the first 5 minutes and took an early 1-0 lead. The Selects kept their composure and at the end of the 1st half it was 2-2. The 2nd half saw a patient Selects team capitalize on quick transitions and a couple of Eagle turnovers to open up the game and skate away with a 7-2 victory.
Peewee Division
10 teams. Westcoast Avalanche, Team Mission and Wild Selects all emerged undefeated after the round-robin and looked to be the favorites heading into the playoff rounds. Also lurking dangerously were the Diablos and IP Euro-Can Panthers. After the early playoff dust settled the WC Avalanche and Wild Selects squared off in a NARCh classic confrontation. A close checking and low-scoring affair for regulation time left the teams tied at 2 heading into overtime. Nerves and intensity took over as the teams battled back and forth unable to score until the Avalanche netted the winner in the 3rd overtime period.
Bantam Division
10 teams. Four teams went undefeated through round-robin: IP Euro-Can Panthers, NS Zulu, WC Avalanche and WC Wildcats. After tough matchups in the semifinals, the #3 ranked WC Avalanche knocked off the #2 NS Zulu, while the 4th ranked IP Euro-Can Panthers upset the top seeded WC Wildcats 3-1. IP Euro-Can Panthers proved too tough in the final game with a 5-3 victory over the Avs.
Junior Division
Six teams competed including teams from Victoria, Langley, Surrey, Bend (Oregon) and Mt. Hood (Oregon). The Blitzkrieg proved the early favorites after going 3-0 in the round-robin and sporting a lineup that included former Vancouver Giant Andrew Davidson and Langley Hornets’ Ben Walter and Matt Pope. The round-robin proved to be just a warmup for the Blitzkrieg as they ran away 8-0 in the semi-finals over the Predators and 6-1 in the final over Stardust Stars.
Senior Division
Seven teams battled for bragging rights in the top division of the tournament. Featuring NARCh Pros Kirk French, Mishka Drury, Ryan Frisk & Colin Sharp, the Westcoast Bombers came into the tournament as defending champions and heavy favorites to come away with the hardware in 2002. An up-and-coming Langley team, the Bandits, also brought some big guns to the tournament in New York Ranger Draftee Ryan Hollweg and current Chilliwack Chief Ralph Vos. With all these high-powered offenses, it was a group of lesser-known but certainly respected bunch, sportsplexbc.com, that proved the giant-killers. First upsetting the favored Bombers in the semifinal 3-2 in overtime, sportsplebc.com moved on to knock off the Bandits 5-2 to claim the Senior Division Title.
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