The Langley bantam C3 Eagles have earned a hockey “three-peat,” winning their third tournament of the season in dramatic fashion.
At a 16-team tournament in Penticton March 4-6, the Eagles went a perfect 5-0 to win gold.
The gold-medal game was an all-Langley affair, with the C3 Eagles edging the C7 squad 4-3 to win the tourney.
Josh Laird scored with four seconds left in the third period to win the final game and tournament for Langley C3 in dramatic fashion.
The victory capped off a dream season for Langley as it was their third tournament win of the season.
Last week, Langley was also awarded the PCAHA banner as Fraser Valley West Playoff champions for the Bantam C Division.
The team finished the season with an outstanding record of 35 wins, four losses and four ties.
Eagles head coach Clark Kemp expressed how proud he was of the players and all of their successes.
“The boys have exceeded my expectations, and it is primarily due to the close bond and support they have shown for each other all season,” Kemp said. “The win in the finals meant a lot as it was the last time the boys would play together as a team. The season went by far too fast, but has left the coaches, players, and parents with memories that will last a lifetime.”
In their opener on March 4, Langley skated to a 9-3 win over host Penticton.
Trevor Young had a hat trick and was selected player of the game for Langley.
Joseph Deley had a strong game on the wing for Langley while defenceman Eric Nordal used his quickness to shut down the Penticton forwards all game.
Game two was a Saturday shutout over the North Shore Winter Club.
Eagles’ player of the game Nick Cormack had three assists in Langley’s 7-0 win.
Greg Song and Carson Yee chipped in with a goal each for Langley.
In their toughest game of the round robin, the Eagles got by a physical Hope team 6-4 on March 5.
Langley scored two goals late in the third period to win the game.
Player of the game for Langley was defenceman Owen Kredba, who battled hard with the strong Hope forwards in front of the Langley net.
Lex Rohweder opened the scoring for Langley with a first period goal.
Defenceman Matt Bardell-Polley chipped in with an assist after missing the previous game with an injury. Forward Josh Moreau also had an assist for Langley.
Langley finished round robin play with a 3-0 record and earned a trip to the semifinals on Sunday morning versus Semiahmoo.
In the semifinals, Langley cruised past Semiahmoo by a 6-1 score.
Player of the game for Langley was goaltender Matthew Reeves while Colton Kenney had two goals and an assist to pace Langley’s attack.
Owen Kemp had a strong game on defence.
On the other side of the tournament draw another Langley team, C7, won its semifinal game 8-7 over West Kelowna, resulting in an all-Langley championship tilt on March 6.
In an exciting, well-played game, Laird scored a hat trick to give Kemp’s C3 team the victory.
In one crucial play at the end of the third period Brady Lumsden jumped up from his position on defence and won a puck battle on the boards before getting the puck to Nick Cormack, who then passed to Josh Laird in front of the net.
With four seconds left in the third period Laird roofed his shot over the Langley C7 goalie to win the game and tournament for Langley C3 in dramatic fashion.
During the entire tournament Langley never trailed in any of its games.