The South Coast Women’s Hockey League (SCWHL) returns to Hope this weekend, holding its Provincial Championship Tournament. Six teams will do battle at the Hope & District Recreation Centre Friday through Sunday (March 24-26), gunning for a senior AA title.
The field includes the defending champion North Shore Rebels along with the Kamloops Vibe, Meadow Ridge Moose, Fraser Valley Jets, South Fraser TNT and Richmond Devils. Those were the top six teams during the regular season. The Burnaby Mountain Capitals, Island Surge and Cowichan Titans finished 7-8-9 and didn’t quality for the year-end tourney.
The top five teams were separated by just eight points, with the Rebels finishing just one point ahead of the Vibe.
“The Rebels won their first-ever B.C. championship last year, and this season won their first-ever regular season title,” said SCWHL president Rick Kupchuk. “Coached by Marco Pecchia, their lineup includes former Ryerson Ram and Port Coquitlam product Elexa Pakozdy, who scored 22 goals in the regular season, and former Saskatchewan Huskies goalie Cassidy Hendricks, who hails from Vancouver.”
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Locals in the tournament include Amanda Christie (Chilliwack) and Alanna Kedra (Abbotsford) from the Jets and Moose skaters Alexandra Hendrickson, Kacey Lepp, Laura McPhedran and Jamie McPhedran, all from Abbotsford.
Lindsay DiPietro of the Jets led the SCWHL in scoring with 26 goals and 42 points in just 20 games played. Megan Buchanan of the Meadow Ridge Moose was the league’s top goaltender, posting a stingy 1.67 goals-against average and 94.4 save percentage.
The six teams will be split into two groups of three for round-robin play all day Friday and into Saturday morning. Two teams will be eliminated and the final four will carry on to semi-finals Saturday night. The gold-medal match will be Sunday, with a 12:15 p.m. start time.
Major sponsors are Tourism Hope – Cascades and Canyons (presenting sponsor), Kerfuffle Creations (livestream sponsor), Sandpiper Resort, and Silver Creek Travel Centre. Sportswave Broadcasting will livestream the two sem-ifinal games on Saturday night as well as the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday.
Get SCWHL stats and standings online at http://www.southcoastwomenshockey.ca/
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