Bruins take Peewee tourney

The Oceanside Bruins, an amalgamation of two local Peewee house teams, were all smiles  after mining gold on home ice at the final tournament of the season.

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“This was the final tournament of the year for Oceanside Minor Hockey, so to finish 1-2 was great.”

Eight teams of players aged 11 and 12 from as far away as Vancouver took to the ice at ‘The Place March 18-19 for the 2011 Peewee Hockey Tournament. Oceanside had three teams in the tourney — the Red Thunder the Bruins and the Stars

Each team played four games. The Red Thunder finished fourth, and in the all-Oceanside final it was the Bruins edging the Stars 4-3 in a thriller.

The gold medal game was tied 3-3 with 1:06 left in regulation when the Bruins’ Brock Norris banged in the winning goal off a scramble in front.

The baby bears went 3-0 in the round robin with wins over Lake Cowichan’s Lakers, the Saanich Braves and Kerry Park Islanders.

“The tournament was great, the kids played very well,” said Bruins’ assistant coach Marc Norris, pointing out the team “was actually an amalgamation of two of our house teams because so many kids were away (on spring break), so for a group of kids that hadn’t played together all season, they really came together as a team.” 

Earning props from coach Norris was Montanna Mosher, the lone girl on the Bruins, who had a great tournament at defence; leading scorer Kurtis Woods was strong on the wing with a couple hat tricks over the two days, and James Brendeland was big in goal both days — he made a key save on a breakaway in the final. Brendan Harstaad was playing really well but  broke his leg in the opening game and was missed by his teammates.

“Oh my gosh it was amazing,” May Norris, OMHA house coordinator and one happy hockey mom said after, adding the tournament “couldn’t have gone any smoother, and the last game was so awesome. All three teams did really, really well, and it was nice to have that amalgamation that made it possible. It was perfect. It was a ton of fun, and the whole Peewee division ... just a great group of kids and coaches. It was just an awesome way to close out the season.”

For more information on the local minor hockey association check out oceansidehockey.com.