It could be classified as a late Christmas present, despite no ‘W’ in the books.
For Burnaby bantam AAA minor hockey head coach Brad Leroux, the strong performance in the team’s opening game at the Pat Quinn Classic on Wednesday morning ranked second behind having a healthy lineup for the first time in seven weeks.
Although the Bulldogs couldn’t fend off a strong third period charge by the Langley Eagles, ending in a 4-3 loss at Bill Copeland Arena, the positive signs gave Leroux reason to smile.
“The highlight for (me) was the effort,” said Leroux following the game. “Our group has had a tough stretch here in November and December, and that Langley team is one of the top teams in B.C. It was the effort for me. The boys battled from minute one to minute 60, so that’s what I’m most proud of for sure.”
As the lone Burnaby Bulldogs entry in the Pat Quinn Classic tourney, with teams coming from as far away as Texas and Rhode Island, there is hometown pride at stake.
But Leroux explains that the challenges, and expectations, are all framed by talent and circumstance, as reflected in their Pacific Coast 4-6-4 record in AAA Flight 2 division play. While relatively healthy for the first time since the regular season begun nearly two months ago, there has been a delay in on-ice chemistry that will only benefit from such high calibre opposition.
“The chemistry in the room is very good. We don’t have much in the way of animosity among this group. The chemistry on the ice, we’re still a bit behind there because we had so many guys missing for a long time,” he noted. “There’s potential here, and it’s good to see us play a game like (Wednesday’s). As I said to the boys in the room, they proved to me today that their potential is a lot higher than the results have shown.”
Burnaby actually led Langley 2-1 after 40 minutes, thanks to a pair of markers from Jack Graham. But the Eagles responded and pressed hard, first pulling even when Liam Burns ripped a crossbar-and-in shot from the left hashmarks past Bulldogs goalie Mattias Matsudo at 5:38 into the third.
About a minute later, Ryden Mathieson gave Langley its first lead off a scramble to the left of Matsudo. They’d increase their advantage to 4-2 when Zachary Urquhart buried a breakaway – with the Eagles shorthanded – with four minutes left in the period.
The Bulldogs’ Jared Hall brought the home team within a goal, putting a rebound past Joseph Maillet after the Langley netminder had made two in-close stops on a Burnaby powerplay.
“Our game is simple -- we just try to get the puck deep and wear the other team down,” noted Leroux. “I thought we did a really good job of that. I thought the second intermission, Langley was able to gather themselves and re-energize. We were staying with them but they do have a lot of good players. It was a tight game.”
Although not a win, Leroux said it was an encouraging sign against the lone Pacific Coast Tier 1 opponent in the mix. Burnaby’s second game, which came hours after the opener (and past the NOW’s deadline), was against the Arizona Bobcats.
“They’re good kids. I’d describe them as hardworking, that’s their main character. I preach to them selflessness. They play and work hard for each other, not for any individual,” he added. “We have no player in this group who are egotistical or think they’re better. They all want to do this for themselves as a group. … It’s tough to say with all the teams from out of town, but I believe if we play like we played this morning, I think there’s no reason we can’t be one of the last teams standing.”
The Burnaby Winter Club Bruins are fielding a pair of teams – the No. 8 nationally-ranked BWC bantam elite Academy squad, which kicked off the tourney by tying Delta Academy 3-3 Wednesday afternoon, getting goals from Caedan Bankier, Keean Fisk and Finlay Williams. The BWC peewee elites blanked the Victoria Racquet Club 2-0 Wednesday morning, with Andrew Cristall counting both Bruin markers.
The Bulldogs play Rocky Mountain at 9 a.m. on Thursday at Copeland; the bantam elite BWC square off against its Rocky Mountain counterpart tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Copeland, before returning to their home rink to play Shawnigan Lake Academy at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
In peewee elite, the BWC Bruins take on Seafair 5:15 p.m. today at Burnaby 8-Rinks, and start Thursday at 8:45 a.m. against the Kelowna Rockets at 8-Rinks, with a second game at 5:15 p.m. against Richmond at BWC.
The tourney, renamed three years ago in honour of the legendary former NHL defenceman and coach and hockey executive, features 28 bantam teams (including 12 in the elite division) and 10 peewee squads.
The Pat Quinn Classic, which continues Thursday and Friday with finals on Saturday (7:15 a.m. for peewee elite; 11:30 am. for bantam elite; 2 p.m. for bantam AAA, all at the Copeland arena), utilizes five venues – Burnaby Lakes and Bill Copeland arenas, Kensington Arena, Burnaby 8-Rinks, the Burnaby Winter Club and Planet Ice Coquitlam.
Fans can catch the action in person or follow it at www.patquinnclassic.com.
