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Pat Quinn Classic attracts up-and-coming stars

Four days, six arenas and even more sheets of ice will be just the tip of the iceberg of what’s involved with the fourth annual Pat Quinn Classic, Burnaby’s top minor hockey tournament.
Quinn Classic
A Burnaby Winter Club player goes horizontal while trying to break into the offensive zone during last year's Pat Quinn Classic bantam elite playoffs at Bill Copeland. This year's tournament has attracted more than 50 teams over five divisions, all looking to return with some hardware.

Four days, six arenas and even more sheets of ice will be just the tip of the iceberg of what’s involved with the fourth annual Pat Quinn Classic, Burnaby’s top minor hockey tournament.

As a spotlight tournament for scouts and fans alike, the tourney continues to raise the bar when it comes to drawing elite calibre hockey programs to the local rinks.

Fifty two teams over five divisions, including peewee and bantam AAA Elite sections, will make prime-time viewing almost anytime during the day, with the tourney hitting three municipal arenas -- Burnaby Lake, Bill Copeland and Kensington – as well as Canlan’s 8-Rinks, the Burnaby Winter Club and Coquitlam’s Planet Ice.

The Pat Quinn tourney, which evolved out of the 53-year-old Burnaby Minor International Bantam event, features teams from across B.C., Alberta, California, Arizona and one team from Texas.

In the bantam AAA division, 14 teams, including Burnaby Minor Bulldogs, the Burnaby Winter Club, and Dallas Penguins, will compete for the tourney trophy. The peewee AAA elite division features teams from Arizona, Calgary, Cloverdale, Langley, Richmond, Kelowna, Victoria, Semiahmoo, Nanaimo, the North Shore Winter Club and a pair of BWC squads. It’s a similar, filled field of competitors in the bantam AAA Elite division, including B.C. major bantam teams the Greater Vancouver Canadians, Cariboo Cougars, Okanagan Rockets, Fraser Valley Thunderbirds and the Valley West Giant challenging CAC Leiheigh Cement (of Edmonton), Shawnigan Lake prep, Arizona 14-under, Fort Saskatchewan, the Junior Coyotes 14u of Phoenix, San Jose jr. Sharks and BWC.

Six teams in each of the Female peewee and bantam divisions will also hit the ice.

The female game start Dec. 27, 3 p.m. at Burnaby Lake, with a game between Prince George and Ridge Meadows peewee clubs. At 4 p.m. at the Bill Copeland Arena, Prince George’s bantam team squares off against the Seattle jr. Admirals.

Action on the boys side starts Dec. 28 at 8 a.m. at 8-Rinks’ sheet 4, when Nanaimo plays Langley in the bantam AAA division. The first peewee elite contest hits the Kensington Arena ice at 10:45 a.m., with Kelowna jr. Rockets meeting the Burnaby Winter Club A2 team. The bantam elite action starts at 11:15 a.m. at BWC, with the host Academy Prep Bruins taking on the Greater Vancouver Canadians.

The finals are slated for Dec. 30 for girls (1:30 and 3:45 p.m. for peewee and bantam respectively) at the Copeland rink.

The boys semifinals hit the ice Dec. 31, with the bantam elite at 8:30 a.m., and the peewee elite at 9 a.m. The gold medal games aer slated for 10:45 a.m. (for bantam AAA), 1 p.m. (for bantam elite) and 3:345 p.m. (for peewee) – all medal gold medal games at Copeland Arena.

For the full schedule and ticket info, visit www.patquinnclassic.com.