Coy Cup 2024 kicked off on Tuesday, March 27, with a pair of games at Hap Parker Arena.
Williams Lake Stampeders downed Penticton Silver Bullets 10-3 in the afternoon opener, then the host Powell River Regals squared off against Central Interior Hockey League champion Terrace River Kings in the nightcap.
Following a scoreless first period, Regals converted a three-on two-rush into the game’s first goal. Cory Burnett pounced on a Josh Gray rebound and slapped it past River Kings’ goalie Daniel Paul. Jared Winkel was credited with the second assist.
Terrace responded 2:34 before intermission when Teagan Harrison tapped in a rebound from Brayden Venard’s point shot, tying the score at 1-1 heading into period three.
“Last night's game was extremely close, and we're happy to learn and gain experience in a playoff-type atmosphere,” said Regals’ assistant coach Scott Mastrodonato. “It was fast-paced, hard-checking and had lots of back and forth exciting plays.”
Goaltending was a factor throughout the night, and that extended into the final frame, which was also scoreless. After 60 minutes, Paul and Regals’ goaltender Laszlo Tamasik had both turned aside 36 shots. The two netminders were chosen as players of the game for their respective teams.
Two five-minutes overtime periods did not produce a winner, despite Terrace having a four-on-three power play opportunity. Final shots were 42-40 in favour of the River Kings, who face the Stampeders at 3:30 pm today (Wednesday, March 27).
“We are a young team and will learn from this outcome for sure,” said Mastrodonato. “In a tournament format like this, it’s important to build game by game, and we checked off a lot of boxes. Terrace was a very strong team, so we'll take the point and move forward.”
At 7:30 pm tonight, Regals will play the Silver Bullets, who are at the bottom of the standings after day one with zero points and a minus-seven goal differential.
“Our guys have been looking forward to this opportunity all season, and to see a great hometown crowd support us on day one sets up for exciting times ahead, we hope,” added Mastrodonato. “The players can feed off that energy, so we hope to build off that as we prepare for game two versus Penticton tonight.”
Williams Lake is at the top of the 2024 Coy Cup table (two points, plus-seven) after day one. Powell River and Terrace are tied with one point and an even plus/minus.
The top team after the round-robin, which concludes on Thursday, March 28, advances to Saturday’s championship game (7:30 pm). Second and third place teams meet in the semi-final on Friday, March 29, also at 7:30 pm.
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