The Junior Ghostriders PeeWee Rep team has bowed out of provincial playoffs after a hard-fought game at Fernie Memorial Arena.
The players, aged 11 to 12, went up against the Windermere Rockies on Sunday, February 3, in their first home game in two years.
The Riders didn’t score in the first period and were facing a three-point deficit in the second until Rhys Williams snuck the puck into Rockies’ net with about eight minutes left on the clock.
A second goal by Gavin Whittington narrowed the gap between the two teams before the Rockies countered with another goal, making the score 2-4. The Riders took more shots at the net over the remainder of the third period, but were unable to find their mark.
Despite the result, Head Coach Mike De Marchi couldn’t be prouder of his team.
“We weren’t really our normal self but we played hard, especially in the third period, we made a push to come back,” he said.
“It’s really all you can ask, they’re young kids and they were working hard, and having fun playing hockey.”
The Riders also lost to the PeeWee Dynamiters in Kimberley last Thursday and Sunday’s loss puts them out of the provincial competition.
As of press time Tuesday, they had two league games left followed by a banner tournament.
De Marchi said it has been a good season.
“We’ve been working into this and we’ve been on a pretty good stretch, and then these have been two really tough games, probably two of the tougher teams we play,” he said.
“It’s disappointing but when you lose to good teams, it’s hard to be too disappointed.”
