Skip to content

Major midget Chiefs suffer rare setback

Their six-game win streak is kaput. But the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs are hungry to start a new winning run on the heels of a sobering loss and tie.
Sam Schofield
Vancouver Northeast Chiefs' Sam Schofield, a Burnaby resident, stretches out to play the puck during a recent B.C. Major Midget Hockey League game at Burnaby 8-Rinks. Despite the end of a six-game win streak, the club remains tied for second in the league, and recently learned that they will be heading to Calgary next month to compete in the illustrious Mac's AAA Midget Hockey tournament.

Their six-game win streak is kaput.

But the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs are hungry to start a new winning run on the heels of a sobering loss and tie.

Despite a 5-2 setback Saturday to the 10th-place Valley West Giants, the local Chiefs still have a toehold on second place in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League standings, tied with the Okanagan Rockets with a 9-4-2-1 record.

Head coach Jeff Urekar said the recent run was a sign of how hard the players have worked.

“I think it’s related to two things, really,” said Urekar, in his first full season as team head coach. “We’ve gotten healthier and got all our players in the lineup (two weeks ago). It’s also attributed to all the work the players have put in over the past few months.”

They struggled against a lower ranked team on Saturday, surrendering two goals in the second period after sitting tied 1-1 after 20 minutes. Logan Kurki counted both goals for the Northeast squad, which draws its players from Burnaby, New West, the Tri-Cities and Ridge Meadows.

A day later, netminder Michael Harroch helped the squad earn a tie, with Christian Lowe and Ryan Tattle supplying the offence.

The team is motivated to stay within striking distance of first-place Fraser Valley, who lead by two points. The top-five teams in the league are only separated by five points.

“We’ve kind of set a first-half goal of qualifying for the (Calgary) Mac’s Invitational tournament, which means we have to finish top-four,” said Urekar. “We pride ourselves in starting strong and we emphasis the importance of practicing hard.”

Following their tie on Sunday, it was announced the Chiefs had qualified for the elite midget tournament, which takes place during the Christmas-New Year’s break.

The squad plays host to the Kootenay Ice this weekend, for games Saturday (4:30 p.m.) and Sunday (11:30 a.m.) at Burnaby 8-Rinks.