Several Greater Trail hockey teams will be competing in the BC Championships this week and next.
Greater Trail Minor Hockey Associations (GTMHA) U13 Rep team is headed to the Tier 3 provincials in West Vancouver March 19-23. The U13 Smokies defeated Castlegar in the playoff earlier this month, after going 13-2-0 in its West Kootenay Minor Hockey League season.
They will join nine other teams in the round robin, and face off at 7 a.m. Sunday against the Quesnel Thunder. They will also play Arbutus Club, Dawson Creek and South Okanagan in Pool A, while Pool B will see Cranbrook, Mission, Powell River, Terrace and West Vancouver battle for top spot.
The girls U13 Greater Trail Wildcats will take to the ice March 23-26 in Cranbrook and vie for the provincial championship against the host Female Bucks, Prince George, Kamloops, Oceanside, North East, Tri Cities, and Richmond.
The boys GTMHA U15 Smokies team is playing in the Tier 2 provincials in Kelowna March 20-23, with nine teams competing from Penticton, Port Coquitlam, Williams Lake, Cranbrook, Fort St. John, Kelowna, Sea to Sky and Peninsula.
The U15 West Kootenay Wildcats will face off in Kamloops March 23-26 against Kamloops, Tri Cities, Williams Lake, Surrey, Penticton, North East, North West, and Oceanside. The team celebrated a home tournament win earlier this year earning gold in Castlegar.
The U18 Smokies will compete in the Tier 2 provincials in South Delta from March 19-22. Trail is slated to play in Pool B with Cloverdale, Fort St. John, South Delta and Williams Lake. While Pool A will see Cranbrook go head to head against Sea to Sky, Peninsula, and Penticton.
The U18 Greater Trail Wildcats are going to Williams Lake and will face the Victoria Reign, North East Predators, Surrey Falcons and Williams Lake in Pool B of the round robin. In Pool A four teams will vie for the playoffs including North West, OMAHA Central, Prince George Capitals and Vancouver. The tournament is scheduled for March 23-26 with the playoffs starting March 26 at 8 a.m. at the Cariboo Memorial Arena and the final scheduled for 8 p.m.
The West Kootenay U15 AA Crusaders will also be in the thick of things at the BC U15 Tier 1 championship. After winning their Zone playoff banner, the team will compete for the championship in Fort St. John March 19-22. Last season the Crusaders captured a silver medal, and will be mining for gold up north this year.
The U18 Crusaders Tier 1 Zone team will play in Salmon Arm from March 20-23 for the BC title. The Crusaders will play against teams from across the province including the host, Northeast Trackers, Cloverdale, Thompson Blazers, Juan de Fuca Grizzlies, North Zone Kings, East Kootenay Avalanche, and Vancouver Thunderbirds.
Best of luck to all the teams. Check out the scores at championships.bchockey.net.