Burnaby Winter Club may be the first A2 team to win a B.C. Tier 2 provincial hockey banner.
"I'm not sure if an A2 has ever won," said winter club peewee A2 head coach Bill Hunt, following the winter club's 8-3 victory over Vancouver in the championship final in Salmon Arm on March 20.
Hayden Delorme scored three goals for Burnaby in the Tier 2 final game.
"I think we were deeper. In all our games, we tried to set a tempo teams couldn't keep up with," said Hunt, who received his sixth provincial gold medal as a winter club coach. "I think we did that with Vancouver. It showed in that final."
Burnaby built up a 4-0 lead in the final and later led 6-3 after getting in a little penalty trouble.
The Bruins opened the provincials with a 9-2 win over Greater Trail and then had to tough it out over Cranbrook before coming away with a 6-5 victory the following day.
Burnaby closed out the tournament with an unbeaten record, downing Powell River 8-2 and Penticton 7-3 before advancing to the banner final.
Hunt said there is not the same expectation for an A2 team to come into a provincial tournament and dominate the way the winter club did.
"(In Tier 1) it's almost expected, but when the (Tier) 2 teams do it, it's huge," he said.
Hunt also commended the A3 and A4 coaches who allowed affiliate players to play for the A2 side during the regular season when it was short a player due to injury or sickness.
"It's something important in minor hockey," Hunt added.
Female defender Camyrn Wong and Jaxson Lepp had outstanding tournaments for the winter club at the provincials, as did fellow second-year peewees Max Kryskie, Jacob Healy-Gill and Jordin Myers.
It was the first provincial banner for all the Burnaby Winter Club players.
"We were happy to peak at the right time and I think we did," Hunt added. "It was special for them."
A3s miss a medal
Burnaby Winter Club also placed its A3 team at the provincial championships in Creston.
The A3 Bruins opened the competition on a winning note, beating Whitehorse 7-2 and Creston 5-1 in pool play before falling to Castlegar 7-5 in a closely played matchup.
Robert Axworthy led the Bruins with a hat trick against Castlegar.
The winter club finished with a 2-3 record and failed to advance to the medal round, following back-to-back losses to Quesnel and Dawson Creek.
Burnaby dominated play against Quesnel but finished up on the wrong end of a 5-2 score, thanks in part by allowing three unanswered goals in the middle frame.
Against Dawson Creek, Ryan Riggs scored two goals in 10-3 loss.
"We were looking great and then we just got tired," said A3 winter club coach Marko Segovic. "We played mostly against Tier 2 teams in the regular season, but Dawson Creek is a small association and had a selection of good second-year players.
"The kids had a good time. It's neat getting away and getting all the bells and whistles like having the ice cleaned after each period. We just ran into some good talent."
