The West Kootenay U15 AA Crusaders hit the road on the weekend and played five hard fought games in three days to capture gold at the U15 AA East Kootenay Avalanche Invitational Tournament in Cranbrook.
The Crusaders beat teams from Calgary 5-1 on Friday evening, South Okanagan 11-1 Saturday morning and then suffered their only loss of the weekend to the host team East Kootenay Avalanche 6-2 in Saturday’s Hockey Night In Cranbrook meeting.
Revenge was sweet on Sunday, however, as the Crusaders advanced to the final with a win over the South Okanagan Knights 5-2 early in the day to set up a rematch with the EK Avalanche in the final afternoon tilt.
The Crusaders came out firing on all levels with thundering hits, top-shelf shots and some of the best puck movement and fast moving skates they have shown all year.
Goaltending and special teams played a big part in the victory, as the line-up was solid from top to bottom. Both sides played hard and heavy, but the Crusaders were the much stronger team at the end of the day with a dominant 7-1 victory to take first place.
The West Kootenay Crusaders U-15 team leads the OMAHA division for Tier 1 AA in the province.
Come out and support the Crusaders on Feb. 26 at 4:15 p.m. and Sunday Feb. 27 at 10:15 a.m. as they face the EK Avalanche for a two-game series at the Beaver Valley Arena in Fruitvale.
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