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North Shore squads battle in final of Pat Quinn Classic hockey tournament

West Van Warriors top North West Hawks in bantam AAA championship game
Andy Prest
Pat Quinn Classic
The West Van Warriors celebrate their win in the bantam AAA male division at the Pat Quinn Classic Dec. 31 in Burnaby. photo supplied Pat Quinn Classic

A pair of North Shore teams battled for gold in the fifth annual Pat Quinn Classic with the West Van Academy Varsity Warriors coming away with the championship title in the bantam AAA male division at the tournament held recently in Burnaby.

The West Van squad, a Canadian Sport School Hockey League team run by the West Vancouver school district’s hockey academy, topped the Vancouver North West Hawks 7-2 in the gold medal final played Dec. 31 at Bill Copeland Arena. The Hawks are a BC Hockey zone team based out of the North Shore Winter Club.

“For the teams, this tournament is a great place to see where you stand,” stated Pat Quinn Classic honourary chairman Cliff Ronning in a release. “And a big feature of this tournament is for the kids to be seen by Western Hockey League scouts and college teams. The scouts are looking for raw talent and to find the next golden gem.”

West Van’s Carson Wetsch was named the MVP of the bantam AAA tournament, racking up 14 points in six tournament games. Teammate Chase Valliant led all players with nine goals and 15 points. Jon Castro of the Hawks earned the top goalie award for the bantam AAA division.

The tournament featured more than 50 teams from across Western Canada and the United States playing in bantam AAA, bantam AAA elite and peewee AAA elite male divisions as well as bantam AAA and peewee AAA female divisions.

Chloe Primerano of the North Shore Winter Club’s peewee A1 team earned the top defence award in the peewee AAA elite male division.