Derian Gaultier was looking forward to a vacation to the Mexican Riviera at the end of his midget hockey season.
The problem?
The season’s going on just a little longer than he thought.
With a playoff win in Coquitlam last weekend Gaultier is scrambling to adjust travel plans.
Mexico out, for now.
Prince George in as Gaultier’s midget AAA Bruins chase a provincial title.
“The Mexican Riviera will always be there but I will never get this chance again,” said Gaultier, one of __ Bruins aging out of midget after this tournament.
The others are Dawson Campbell, Jett Higginbottom, Mitch Davis, Jared Gibbard, Josh Irvine and Tycen Kingma.
The last time a Chilliwack Minor Hockey squad won a provincial midget title, none of them were even born.
The championship drought stretches back to 1994, pre-dating the oldest of this year’s Bruins by five years. They’d love to be the ones to snap that skid, but there’s another hurdle to overcome.
It’s no small task getting 17 players plus support staff to PG. That’s why the team is looking for sponsorship help and accepting donations through the Chilliwack Minor Hockey office at Twin Rinks.
It’d be tragic for money concerns to halt what has been an amazing Cinderella ride.
Chilliwack’s prospects looked bleak in October when two key players were lost to season ending injuries and bleaker still when they were shuffled into the second flight for tiering.
But the Bruins proved their detractors wrong, fashioning a 6-1 record that got them promoted to flight one. They battled their way to the Final Four tournament in Coquitlam last weekend and blanked Surrey 3-0 in a win-and-you’re-in game to earn their provincial pass.
“The kids are a passionate group,” said coach Clayton Robinson. “Their willingness to sacrifice individual accolades for the betterment of the team has been reflected in our success.”
The team’s younger players have learned from the unselfish vets.
First year players are Joel Cullen, Matti Clark, Dylan Devers, Carson Ediger, Garret Lindhout, Brock Maccholz, Sean McCracken, Ethan Rideout, Riley Smith, Liam Warren and Dawson Wolff.
The provincial tournament starts Sunday and continues all week, ending Friday.
Chilliwack will be joined by Saanich, Coquitlam, Prince George, Thompson Zone, and Northeast Trackers
Anyone who’d like to help the team with travel expenses can contact team manager Lisa Gibbard at 604-991-6987.