The Junior Coyotes Peewee rep team will be travelling to Terrace for provincials on Friday. (Photo supplied)
There have been many proud hockey moments in the long history of the Town of Osoyoos, but sending close to 30 players from three different teams to compete for provincial championships is right near the top.
Members of the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association (SOMHA) Junior Coyotes Peewee Rep team, South Okanagan Thunder Bantam rep squad and SOMHA Midget Rep team are all headed to their respective provincial championship tournaments later this week.
“All of the kids are very excited to be headed to provincials and they should be because it’s exceptional for three teams from the same association to qualify for provincials,” said Brianne Hillson, the SOMHA’s registrar and the Junior Coyotes’ Peewee team manager. “It’s been an amazing year for our entire association.”
The SOMHA was holding a board meeting Monday evening and it’s expected that all three teams will be given $5,000 each to help pay much of the costs of travelling to their respective provincial championship tournaments.
The majority of players on all three teams come from Osoyoos, but there are also several players from Oliver and others from places such as Grand Forks, Princeton, Okanagan Falls and Keremeos.
The Junior Coyotes will be travelling to Terrace on Friday to compete in the provincial championships against eight other teams.
Head coaches Gord Dynneson and Brian Zakall and assistant coach Wayne Dawson, the team’s 15 players and a large contingent of parents and siblings will be leaving for Prince George on Friday morning.
They will spend the night in Prince George before heading to Terrace Saturday morning. As of Tuesday morning, the team’s tournament schedule hadn’t been finalized, but they are expected to play their first game on Sunday, said Hillson.
A fundraising dance was held this past weekend at the Sonora Community Centre and a special pub night was held at the Sage Pub in Osoyoos to try and generate additional revenue to pay for the trip to provincials, said Hillson.
There has never been three SOMHA teams qualify for provincials during the same season, she said.
“This has been a very special year for sure,” she said. “Getting to compete in a provincial championship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most young hockey players so we’re very proud of each and every kid on our team and all three SOMHA teams.”
The Junior Coyotes roster includes Tyler Badger, Colby Dynneson, Crae Dawson, Armaan Deol, Sawyer Ethier, Trey Fortune, Colin Grob, Bradley Hillson, Nathan Kaminski, Tyson Lautard, Kyton MacFadden, Raistlyn Palmateer, Grady Pearson, Quinn Carignan and Kaden Zakall.
The South Okanagan Thunder Bantams will be competing at provincials in Port Hardy and will also be leaving on Friday.
The roster of 18 players will be joined by a large contingent of parents and other supporters, said team manager Vanessa Kriese.
“We’ll have at least one parent for every player on our team,” she said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience not only for the players, but for many of the parents.
“It’s so cool to think our team and two other local teams not only won their league title, but also won in the playoffs and are heading to the provincial championships.”
The money provided by the SOMHA is much needed as it costs $120 per night for seven nights in Port Hardy on top of travel expenses, food and ancillary costs, she said.
“Last year’s local Peewee team qualified for provincials in Nelson and it cost each parent roughly $1,000 to go to that tournament,” she said. “While the association will cover most of the costs for the players, we’ve asked each parent that’s going to provincials to do their own fundraising and sell raffle tickets.
“We have a couple of kids on our team that have single parents and they just can’t afford to travel to provincials, which is very unfortunate.”
Kriese is confident the Thunder will perform well in Port Hardy.
“We’ve had an outstanding season and I think we’ll do very well at provincials,” she said. “There are obviously going to be some very good teams there, but I like our chances.”
The Thunder coaching staff includes head coach Brock Anderson and assistant coaches Thierry Martine and Brandon Watson. All three are graduates of the Osoyoos Coyotes.
The team’s roster includes Sunjit Bains (Osoyoos), German Barahona Acuna (Oliver), Liam Bissonnette (Osoyoos) , Justin Davis (Osoyoos), Brandon Della-Paolera (Osoyoos), Jack Fortune (Oliver), Bryson Garska (Osoyoos), Levi Holz (Osoyoos), Seth Kriese (Osoyoos), Jaidon Minshull (Cawston), Caleb Pearson (Osoyoos), Cole Rezka (Osoyoos), Jayden Simon (Princeton), Tyson Soobotin (Grand Forks), Colton Thomsen (Oliver), Jacob Vautour (Grand Forks), Matthew Wilson (Oliver) and Grant Yee (Princeton).
The Midget Rep team leaves Friday to compete in provincials in Dawson Creek. All 19 players and a large contingent of parents will spend Friday night in Prince George before heading to Dawson Creek Saturday morning.
To have close to 30 players from Osoyoos competing in provincial championships is astounding and something to be very proud of, said Midget Rep team manager Angela Paolera.
“It’s going to be amazing that every rep team player from Peewee to Midget will be able to share the experience of competing in a provincial championship,” she said. “It’s a great credit to all of the players and all of the coaches and to our small association.”
The players on the Midget squad are also very confident heading to provincials, she said.
“They are obviously very excited,” she said. “We had a great regular season and then proved we were the best team in the league in the playoffs, so we think we can compete with the best teams in the province.”
The amount of community support in Osoyoos, Oliver, Grand Forks, Princeton and Keremeos has been phenomenal, she said.
“I’m just amazed and appreciative of all of the community support in each town,” she said. “All of the boys have been involved in raising funds and they’ve all received great support and it has really made a difference.”
The team’s head coach is Ryan Miller, who has been ably assisted by assistant coaches Grant Storzuk and Blake Loura.
The team’s roster includes Tomas Angel (Oliver), Tristan Baptiste-Hall (Oliver), Evan Della-Paolera (Osoyoos), Jamie Fortune (Oliver), Joshua Hammett (Grand Forks), Levi Harris (Oliver), Kolby Horne (Grand Forks), Adam Houle (Oliver), Evan Loura (Osoyoos), Chase McKay (Grand Forks), Quentin Murr (Osoyoos), Scott Rausch (Osoyoos), Parker Thibert (Princeton), Bryden Thomas (Grand Forks), Tristan VanderMeulen (Princeton), Josh Windley (Oliver), Bailey Shaw (Greenwood), Keenan Holz (Osoyoos) and Levi Holz (Oliver).
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
The South Okanagan Thunder Bantams will be competing at the provincials in Port Hardy. (Photo supplied)
The Midget Rep team leaves Friday to compete in provincials in Dawson Creek. (Photo supplied)
The band Dave’s Not Here played a number of popular cover songs during a dance at the Sonora Community Centre on Friday night to raise funds for the South Okanagan Midget, Bantam and Pee Wee Rep hockey teams to go to B.C. provincials. (Richard McGuire photo)
