The South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association (SOMHA) Midget Rep team, seen in playoff action last week at the Sun Bowl Arena, has qualified for the provincial championships after defeating Kelowna 6-4 Saturday in Kelowna. The midget provincial championships will take place in Dawson Creek.The Peewee Junior Coyotes and Bantam Rep teams have also qualified for their respective provincial championships. There will be a fundraising dance for all three teams this Friday evening to raise money to send all three teams to provincials. Town of Osoyoos council also agreed to provide $500 apiece to all three teams at Monday’s regular meeting of council. (Keith Lacey photo)
Three teams from the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association (SOMHA) are regional champs and will soon be heading to their respective provincial championship tournaments.
Rep teams from the Midget, Bantam and Peewee Divisions all captured SOMHA regular season titles and continued their winning ways at the next level, with all three claiming Okanagan Mainline Minor Hockey Association (OMAHA) championships.
Over the weekend, the Peewee Rep Junior Coyotes claimed a spot in the provincials after completing a two-game sweep of Merritt in their best-of-three series.
After beating Merritt 3-1 Feb. 22 in Osoyoos, the South Okanagan rep team completed the sweep with a 4-3 victory in Merritt this past Saturday.
Tyler Badger was outstanding and led the way for the winner scoring a hat trick, while Kyton MacFadden had the other goal. Colby Dynneson was solid between the pipes for the winning squad.
“It was an awesome game, super tight, “said head coach Gord Dynneson. “We knew going in it would be tough to close our series in their building. And Merritt came out flying. We scored first and set the tone, but they kept coming back to tie. They had us on our heels the last seven-to-eight minutes trying to get the tying goal.
“Colby held us in the game, and made a lot of point blank saves. One of his key saves came off a slap shot, a one-timer late in the game. He came across with a glove save. It was the turning point, If they would have scored on that one, it would have shifted momentum. It was a solid effort by our guys.”
And now, the Junior Coyotes are heading to Terrace to take part in the provincial championships.
“Right from tryouts, there was no way in heck we thought as a coaching staff we could make a run. But the guys worked hard and kept believing in themselves. We have a 20-1-1 record overall, which is mind-blowing, “ added Dynneson, excited about what lies ahead. “We are going to provincials.
“I think we have a shot of finishing in top four or five. Burnaby Winter Club looks good. But, we are going to give everybody a run. It’s going to be a great experience for the boys for sure.”
Also this past weekend, the South Okanagan Midget team beat Kelowna to sweep their OMAHA final series in two games.
South Okanagan opened the series with a 6-3 victory at Sun Bowl Arena Feb. 21 and finished off Kelowna this past weekend.
Josh Windley led the way with three goals and Bailey Shaw follow up with two goals. Levi Harris was able to add a single tally in the 6-4 clincher Saturday.
“We had a tough battle to win game two and the OMHA Tier 3 League Playoffs to clinch our berth in the BC Hockey Tier 3 Provincials in Dawson Creek. We had a strong first period going into the locker room with a 3-1 lead. However, we lost momentum in the second when we had an early goal called back and Kelowna came back and scored three unanswered goals, including the go-ahead goal with just five seconds left in the second period,” explained Midget head coach Ryan Miller. “However, our South Okanagan team came out and returned to our game plan. We were able to score an early third period power play goal. We then pulled ahead after the 10-minute mark and were able to secure our win with an empty net goal late in the third.
Now, the Midget team will compete in Provincials in Dawson Creek.
“We are excited to be a part of a winning season with the Bantams and Peewee SOMHA Rep teams. We feel that our season has steadily seen positive growth in our ability to play as a team and build a strong, unified team culture.
“We are peaking at the right point in our season. We will be be considered a competitive team at provincials this year.”
The South Okanagan Bantam rep team had already qualified for provincials in Port Hardy after knocking off Winfield in two-straight games.
In the meantime, the Rep teams will be holding three fundraisers this weekend to help fund their provincials trip.
There will be a dance Friday, March 6 at the Sonora Centre. Tickets are $20 per person. A live band – Dave’s Not Here – will entertain and there will be a midnight buffet and door prizes. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
A SOMHA Player Auction will take place at 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, SOMHA players will be bagging groceries at local supermarkets. Also on Saturday, Sage Pub will host a burger and beer fundraiser to support the three local hockey teams heading to provincials.
Town of Osoyoos council also announced Monday that each of the three teams will receive $500 to help pay the costs of travelling to the provincial championships.
DALE CORY
Special to the Times
