The fifth edition of the Pat Quinn Classic has wrapped up with B.C. teams dominating the medals in the tournament’s five divisions.
Burnaby Winter Club Academy Prep defeated Cariboo Cougars 11-3 to win gold in the male Bantam AAA Elite division. San Jose Junior Sharks U14 beat Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 5-2 for the bronze.
The gold medal game in the Bantam AAA division featured a North Shore battle with West Van Varsity winning over Vancouver North West Hawks 7-2. North Island Major Silvertips beat LMHA Bantam A1 (Langley) 6-3 for the bronze.
In the Peewee AAA Elite division, Burnaby Winter Club Peewee A1 scored a 4-2 victory over Glenlake Hawks A1 (Calgary) in the gold medal game.
Kelowna Junior Rockets defeated Semiahmoo A1 by a score of 9-1 in the bronze medal game.
“For the teams, this tournament is a great place to see where you stand,” said Cliff Ronning, honourary chair of the Pat Quinn Classic. “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.”
“This tournament offers an opportunity for the community to see high-calibre hockey,” said Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley. “You would have to go a long way to find a better tournament than this with the level of play you see with the level of age groups involved. We are getting bigger and bigger and the reputation of the tournament is growing.”
The tournament included two female divisions this year.
In female Bantam AAA, Tri-City Predators A1 defeated Victoria Reign A1 5-0 to take the gold.
Abbotsford Ice defeated Prince George A1 for the bronze by a score of 2-1.
In female Peewee AAA, Victoria Reign A1 beat Tri-City Female A1 3-1 for the gold medal.
Prince George Female A-1 won the bronze medal game 4-1 over Ridge Meadows Barracudas.
The 2019 Pat Quinn Classic featured more than 50 teams from Western Canada and the United States over five days of competition.
The Burnaby Minor Hockey Association began hosting the annual December Bantam hockey tournament in 1962. It’s now the longest-running event of its kind in the world. The tournament became the Pat Quinn Classic in 2015, named after the legendary player, coach, general manager and team owner. Pat is internationally-recognized as one of the hockey’s greatest coaches and ambassadors. Proceeds go to the Pat Quinn Legacy Fund. Managed by Hockey Canada, the fund supports players in post-secondary education after their hockey careers. Quinn is one of the most recognizable faces in Canadian sport and has made an enormous contribution to sport in British Columbia and Canada.