A trio of Delta Hockey Academy Bantam age teams turned in strong performances in recent tournament play.
The DHA Prep and Varsity Wild both participated in the inaugural Pat Quinn Classic. The event has taken the place of the Burnaby Minor Hockey's long-running Christmas Tournament and was expanded to now include three divisions - Bantam AAA Elite, Bantam AAA and Pee Wee AAA Elite.
The Wild Prep team reached the championship game before dropping a 5-3 decision to Chicago Mission.
It marked the second time in the tournament the teams had met, with the powerhouse American squad also producing a 6-2 victory three days earlier.
The final saw Chicago dominate the opening period with four unanswered goals. Delta did manage to claw within a pair, thanks to markers from Keegan Craik, Arshdeep Bains and Lucas Svejkovsky, but could get no closer.
"I think we prepared well for this game but they just had more juice, more energy and more jump," said Delta coach Yogi Svejkovsky. "At the end of the day the first period was what it was. After that nothing really changed, we didn't change many things but we found our legs and got a little more competitive to claw back."
The Wild's road to the final included round-robin wins over Juan De Fuca Grizzlies (7-0) and Okanagan Hockey Academy (4-1). DHA then topped the Notre Dame Hounds 4-1 in the quarter-finals, before blanking the LA Kings 3-0 in the semis.
Meanwhile, the DHA Bantam Varsity #1 team competed in the Bantam AAA Division where it captured the consolation championship with an 8-2 victory over host Burnaby Minor.
The Wild had cruised into the playoff round with wins over Ridge Meadows (5-0), Peninsula (8-0) and Anaheim Junior Ducks (11-0), before finally being tested in a 5-2 victory against Langley. Delta moved onto the playoff round where it was trimmed 2-1 in the quarter-finals by eventual silver medalist Seafair.
At the 35th annual Richmond Bantam Midget International, it was another American team that ended the Wild Bantam Varsity #2 team's title hopes.
Delta had dominated its opponents before dropping a 4-3 decision to the Golden State Elite in the championship game.
The Wild dominated its California opponent in the opening 20 minutes, enjoying a 15-3 advantage in shots, However, it was Golden State who had a 1-0 lead. Brandon Santa Juana would eventually tie the game at 3-3 midway through the final period and Golden's State's Ethan Liu notched the winner just over two minutes later.
Tyus Gent had Delta's other two goals.
The Wild reached the final with roundrobin wins over Seafair Bantam A2 (6-2), Vancouver Minor A1 (8-2) and Juan De Fuca A2 (6-0), before topping the South Delta A1 Storm 8-1 in the semi-finals.
Gent led his team in tournament scoring with 13 points, including seven goals. Chris Fortems added 10.
The Storm had battled its way to a final four berth with wins over Surrey A1 (5-4) and Saanich A2 (3-2). The locals also played Golden State tough in their opener, falling 4-2. Easton Elmer led the Storm with six points. Logan Hale and Ryan Rundhawa had three goals each.
