U17 Canadians Stun First-Place Rockets Sunday to Gain Split

After a forgettable loss on Saturday, the U17 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians stunned the first-place Okanagan Rockets 4-3 at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Sunday to earn a split against the mighty visitors from Kelowna.

For the Rockets, Sunday’s loss was just their fourth of the season in 26 games.

The Canadians, meanwhile, improved to 8-15-2-1 through 26 games, good for eighth place in the standings, although they are just one point out of seventh and two out of sixth.

On Saturday, the Rockets scored four short-handed goals, including two on the same penalty, en route to a 9-3 win. Peyton Fernandez, Thomas Kanavos, and Gavin Dacpano scored for GVC, while both Joshua Read and D’Angelo Brual saw action in goal for the Canadians. 

On Sunday, Brual stopped 30 shots, including 10 in the final period, as GVC upset the Rockets 4-3. Down 1-0, the Canadians tied the game when Trevor Chin scored his 10th goal of the season with just 7.9 seconds left in the first. William Trolland’s power-play goal four minutes into the second period—his team-high 14th goal—put GVC ahead for good, and Thomas Kanavos notched his second goal of the weekend two minutes later to make it 3-1. After the Rockets made it 3-2, Connor Ma scored his fourth goal of the season with 8:56 left in the second for a 4-2 lead. 

Although the Rockets pulled their goaltender for an extra skater with more than three minutes left in regulation, Brual and the Canadians kept them off the scoreboard until 12.9 seconds remained on the clock to close out the scoring in the game. 

For Brual, the win was his fifth of the season, tops on the club. 

Through 26 games, William Trolland leads the team with 14 goals and 24 points. Sean Wickenden, who is tied for the team lead with Luke Wilson with 11 assists, leads all GVC blueliners with 15 points. 

With four goals apiece, Wickenden, Ma, and Dacpano are tied for the team lead among blueliners. 

Next up for the U17 Canadians, a home series against the U17 Vancouver Island Royals on Jan. 18-19 at the Richmond Oval. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., while Sunday’s contest is at 8:30 a.m. Both games can be seen on playfullscreen.com.