It’s their chance to shine in front of family and friends.
A group of seven and eight-year-old hockey players, all with aspirations of becoming the next Sedin or Crosby, will take to the ice this weekend when the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association hosts its Novice Jamboree tournament.
A total of 16 teams will take part, including three SOMHA teams – the Scorpions, Black Dragons and Snipers.
Twenty of the 32 games will be played at the Oliver Arena, with games taking place from 1:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Sunday. The other 12 games will take place in Osoyoos.
Other teams will be travelling from Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, Summerland, Princeton and Winfield.
The three local teams, made up mainly of Oliver and Osoyoos players, are excited to take to the ice and show off their talents.
“This weekend’s tournament will prove to be a good test for us. It’s always nice playing in your own tournament, and it should be a lot of fun for the kids,” said Derek Ruck, head coach of the Black Dragons. “We have preached to the kids from the start of the season that whether it’s a practice or a game we want to be known as the hardest working team. We are the younger team in the majority of the games we play but have been very successful by out-working the teams we play. We as coaches have been very excited with how our team has gelled and how many great friendships have been formed. Carter Sepach has been great in net for us, we have four of the strongest defencemen in the novice division and our forwards are spreading around the scoring very nicely.”
Last weekend, the Scorpions dropped a pair of games, getting goals from Conner Vu, Eman Bajwa and Griffin Johnston in a 4-3 loss to Summerland, and falling 12-2 to undefeated Penticton.
The South Okanagan Novice Snipers played two games last weekend, losing one 8-1 vs Penticton Black and tying Penticton Blue at two in the second game.
The coaching staff is very pleased with the progress the team has made in the past two months and looks forward to a great season ahead, and participating in their home tournament.
The other SOMHA team preparing for the weekend is the Scorpions.
“The goal at the novice level is fun, learning, and development rather than winning or losing,” says Scorpions manager Cam Fraser. “Our focus is heavily on developing the kids as not only hockey players, but also as good people and teammates.”
At the Novice Jamboree this weekend…
The Scorpions, in Pool A, face West Kelowna Friday at 5:15 p.m. (Oliver), Penticton Blue Snipers Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (Osoyoos), Vernon Blue Dragon Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (Oliver) and Princeton Minor Posse Sunday at 10:30 a.m. (Oliver).
The Black Dragons, in Pool B, face Winfield Bruins Friday at 4 p.m. (Oliver), Kelowna Spitfires Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (Oliver), Summerland Jets Saturday at 6 p.m. (Oliver), and Penticton Green Stars Sunday at 9:15 a.m. (Osoyoos).
The Snipers, in Pool D, take on Princeton Friday at 6:30 p.m. (Oliver), Penticton Green Stars Saturday at 9:15 a.m. (Oliver), West Kelowna Fireballs Saturday at 1 p.m. (Osoyoos) and the Vernon Wolverines Sunday at 11:45 a.m. (Osoyoos).
As for the rest of the SOMHA teams:
The South Okanagan Pre Novice Ice Monkeys played two great games over the weekend – losing to the S.O. Wolverines and coming from behind to beat Penticton Purple 9-6.
The South Okanagan JR Coyotes Peewee Rep team played on Saturday in Osoyoos vs. the Kelowna Peewee female team and defeated the girls 10-0. The South Okanagan JR Coyotes currently lead their OMAHA division with nine wins and one loss. The team plays this weekend in Sicamous vs Salmon Arm.
The South Okanagan Midget Rep team travelled to Kelowna’s annual Tier 3 hockey tournament. Friday morning saw them kick off the competition against a local rival team from Summerland. After a tight first half of the game, the boys pulled away with a 7-3 win. Friday evening they faced off against a strong skating team from Whistler. After dropping behind two goals early in the game, the team battled hard to pull off a 5-3 win. The South OK team came up against another tough battle with a determined Edmonton team. Again the boys fought back from an early deficit to take the game with a convincing 6-3 victory.
This set the team up with a first place finish in their pool and they played against Semiahmoo from White Rock early Sunday morning in a semifinal game. With a gritty effort the boys took an early lead, which lead to a convincing 5-3 win. They then played in the final against their arch rival Kelowna Tier 3 team. Despite a concerted effort, South Okanagan came up short with a 5-2 loss, seeing them finish second in a tournament boasting a field of competitive teams.
“The coaching staff was very pleased with the boys’ effort throughout the tournament. The team worked hard to execute their systems and developed as a team unit,” said coach Ryan Miller. “Most importantly, they exhibited hard work and gutsy effort to achieve a successful tournament performance. We look forward to our home tournament Dec. 12-14.”
