Fraser Valley arenas were invaded by young hockey talent at the annual BCHL Showcase, which ran from Oct. 12 to 16 at the Abbotsford Centre and the Chilliwack Coliseum.
Abbotsford hosted four of the five days, while games shifted to Chilliwack on Wednesday (Oct. 15).
Considered one of the league's signature events, the Showcase draws scouts from all across the continent and each BCHL team plays twice over the five days. Each individual day featured four games
The Sherwood Park Crusaders entered the Showcase as the lone BCHL team without a regulation loss and kept that streak going with a 3-2 win over the Prince George Spruce Kings on Tuesday (Oct. 14). The streak ended with a thud after Sherwood Park fell 8-5 to the Langley Rivermen on Thursday (Oct. 16). Langley opened up a 5-1 lead in the first period to earn the win.
The Trail Smoke Eaters and the Coquitlam Express arrived to the Fraser Valley with only one loss and Trail posted a 4-2 win over the Nanaimo Clippers on Tuesday and a 3-2 win over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Thursday. Coquiltam finished with a 2-1 overtime win over the Vernon Vipers on Sunday (Oct. 12), but then fell 4-1 to the Blackfalds Bulldogs on Monday (Oct. 13).
On the other side of the ledger, the Surrey Eagles remain winless in nine games and dropped a 4-0 loss to the Blackfalds Bulldogs on Sunday and then a 5-2 loss to the West Kelowna Warriors on Wednesday.
Games on Monday had to be adjusted due to power outages in Abbotsford that impacted the AC. One game was moved to Abbotsford's MSA Arena, one was moved to Planet Ice in Coquitlam and one to Planet Ice in Delta. Monday's game occurred at the AC with the power restored.
Full results from the Showcase were:
Sunday
- Victoria Grizzlies – 5 Salmon Arm Silverbacks – 0
- Okotoks Oilers – 5 Chilliwack Chiefs – 1
- Blackfalds Bulldogs – 4 Surrey Eagles – 0
- Coquitlam Express – 2 Vernon Vipers 1 (OT)
Monday
- Blackfalds Bulldogs – 4 Coquitlam Express – 1
- Nanaimo Clippers – 4 Okotoks Oilers – 2
- Vernon Vipers – 7 Victoria Grizzlies – 4
- Salmon Arm Silverbacks – 4 Powell River Kings – 1
Tuesday
- Trail Smoke Eaters – 4 Nanaimo Clippers – 2
- Langley Rivermen – 4 Cranbrook Bucks – 3 (OT)
- Brooks Bandits – 5 Powell River Kings – 1
- Sherwood Park Crusaders – 3 Prince George Spruce Kings – 2
Wednesday
- West Kelowna Warriors – 5 Surrey Eagles – 2
- Alberni Valley Bulldogs – 5 Cranbrook Bucks – 2
- Brooks Bandits – 6 Prince George Spruce Kings – 2
- Cowichan Valley Capitals – 5 Spruce Grove Saints – 2
Thursday
- Trail Smoke Eaters – 3 Alberni Valley Bulldogs – 2
- Langley Rivermen – 8 Sherwood Park Crusaders – 5
- West Kelowna Warriors – 2 Cowichan Valley Capitals – 1 (OT)
- Spruce Grove Saints – 4 Chilliwack Chiefs – 2
Regular season action continues on Friday (Oct. 17), with the Chilliwack Chiefs returning to the Chilliwack Coliseum to host the Brooks Bandits in a BCHL final rematch on Saturday (Oct. 18). For more on the league, visit bchl.ca.
