For the Reporter
The surprising Kent Valley Rainiers’ 16U AAA Tier-1 hockey team went undefeated in preliminary-round games at the Bauer World Invitational in Chicago last weekend.
The Rainiers finished 2-0-1, earning a second-place finish in their pool after losing out on the tiebreaker for first by a goal.
“After having a tough weekend in Kelowna (B.C.) two weeks ago, our guys are starting to buy-in to what we are trying to do,” said Rainiers coach Danny Lorenz. “It’s a process. The results are clear, and we look forward to continuing to develop our young team into better hockey players.”
The Chicago tournament is one of the largest in the world with AAA teams from throughout North America and Europe competing in the Squirt 10U through Midget 16U age brackets. The tournament included 438 teams from 30 states, seven Canadian provinces and eight countries.
It was a good showing for Kent Valley, its roster made up of a majority of players who are 15-year-olds, first-year Midgets.
In the Rainiers’ 3-3 tournament-opening tie against the New Jersey Junior Titans, Andrew Bell scored two first-period goals, including one at the end of the period to knot the score at 2-2. After the Rainiers fell behind in the second period, Kyle Katras scored the game-tying goal in the third to salvage an important point in the standings.
Calen Randall and Nick Snyder each had two assists in the game. Erik Garber made 12 saves on 15 shots.
AP Tremblay’s two goals powered the Rainiers past the Phoenix Firebirds in the second game, 5-0.
Dylan Moriarty and Michael Morrison each had a goal and an assist, while Randall chipped in with a goal. Katras and Elliot Plourde had two assists each.
Ben Jarvis earned the shutout making 19 saves on 19 shots.
Game 3 saw the Rainiers handle the physical Pittsburgh Selects, 4-2. Plourde scored two goals, including the game-clinching empty-netter. Tremblay and Randall each tallied for the Rainiers, while Snyder and Moriarty each had two assists, and Katras one. Garber made 22 saves on 24 shots.
In the Sweet 16 elimination round, the Rainiers lost 3-1 to the Total Package Hockey (Nashville, Tenn.) Thunder of the Tier One Elite League, which had given up only two goals for the tournament. The Thunder scored three goals in an eight-minute stretch of the second period, capitalizing on small but costly Rainier breakdowns.
Jarvis made 18 saves on 21 shots.
The Rainiers play out of the Kent Valley Ice Centre.
To learn more, visit www.KentValleyHockey.com.
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