The 2020 Arctic Winter Games are two years away but there are auditions to be had and spots to be earned for the bantam boys team.
To that effect, a group of young players from the territory made the trip to Burnaby, B.C., for the BC Spring Showdown, which wrapped up this past Sunday. The team, which included eight players from Yellowknife, ended up winning the silver division thanks to a 3-2 win over the Kelowna Heat.
The boys started off against the Heat and dropped a 5-3 decision. They held down a 2-1 lead after two periods of play but weren't able to hold off the Heat who scored four goals in the third period to skate away victorious.
Anthony Duhamel and River McQueen each had a goal and an assist in defeat for the squad while Emmery Golchert had two assists.
Game two for the boys saw them up against the Snipers from Nanaimo, B.C., which also ended in defeat, this time by a score of 7-3. The NWT found themselves down 3-0 after the opening period and had no answer for the Snipers.
Golchert had a goal and an assist in the losing effort.
The boys found the win column in their third game, a 6-1 win over the New Western Bruins of Langley, B.C. They led after the first period, 3-1, and never looked back after that, scoring three more unanswered markers to cement the win.
McQueen and Golchert each had a pair of goals and added an assist each in the winning effort, which earned the NWT a spot in the silver division playoffs.
They played a semifinal game against Selects Hockey BC, which ended in a 6-1 triumph. They opened up a 2-0 lead after the first period but the second period was where the boys dropped the hammer as they potted four goals.
Golchert had himself a hat trick while DJ Doyle pocketed a pair of tallies. McQueen was the set-up man in the semifinal as he notched four assists.
In the final against the Heat, Duhamel opened the scoring midway through the first period but the Heat got the equalizer less than a minute later. McQueen scored early in the second period to restore the NWT's lead before the Heat found another equalizer a few minutes later.
Golchert ended up scoring the eventual winning goal with less than five seconds remaining in the second period and the boys were able to hold on in the third period to claim victory.
Golchert ended up leading the team in scoring with 13 points in his five games while McQueen had himself 12 points in five games.