The first-ever Western Canada Cup tournament got under way in Nanaimo this week as teams from the Canadian Junior Hockey League's western leagues took part.
Five teams - four league champions plus the host Nanaimo Clippers - began play Saturday afternoon. Play continues to May 5 as the tournament narrows the five teams down to the two that will advance to play in the 2013 RBC Cup in Summerside, P.E.I.
The SJHL champion Yorkton Terriers got off to a good start in Saturday action by defeating the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL by a 4-3 score.
Jeremy Johnson scored twice in the win while Tayler Thompson and Devon McMullen also scored for the Terriers. McMullen's goal capped a comeback from a 3-2 deficit in the third period for Yorkton.
Greg Fraser, Matthew Grant and Colton Dahlen scored for Nanaimo.
The tournament opener Saturday saw the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL beat the Surrey Eagles, BCHL champions, by a 4-2 count.
Brooks took a 3-0 lead and never trailed in the contest. Goalie Michael Fredrick was named star of the game in net for Brooks.
Sunday, Yorkton moved to 2-0 on the tournament by beating their Manitoba Junior Hockey League counterparts, the Steinbach Pistons.
Goals by Jeremy Johnson and Chase Norrish gave Yorkton a 2-0 lead before Steinbach came back. Tyler Giebel's second-period goal gave the Terriers the lead for good, and they won it 3-2.
Later that evening the Nanaimo Clippers gave their home fans something to cheer about as they bombed Brooks 7-2 for their first tournament win.
Brooks got the opening goal ,but it was all Nanaimo after that, as they scored five consecutive times to put the game out of reach by the end of the second period.
The lone game Monday saw the Surrey Eagles get their first victory, sending the Steinbach Pistons to 0-2 on the tournament with a 5-3 win. A quick goal by Brady Shaw just one minute and five seconds into the game got things rolling for the Eagles as they notched their first tournament win.
Tuesday action saw Yorkton take on Brooks in an afternoon matchup. Despite the Terriers tying the game on a Nathan Murray goal in the third period, it was the Bandits who emerged victorious in overtime as Shane Pilling scored at the 12:56 mark of the first overtime period.
The other game saw Surrey take down Nanaimo 4-0 in an all-B.C. matchup that evening. Three goals in the second and one in the third rounded out a solid night for the Eagles.
Further matchups scheduled in the tournament saw Steinbach take on Brooks Wednesday, while action Thursday saw Yorkton take on Surrey as well as Nanaimo versus Steinbach.
Games Friday will see No. 1 take on No. 2 while No. 3 takes on No. 4. The winner of the 1-2 game goes to the RBC Cup, while the loser takes on the winner of the 3-4 game to determine the second team to advance to the RBC Cup in Prince Edward Island.
