The Valley Thunder 14U Tier II team returned from Canada with more than a half-eaten box of Timbits from Tim Horton's in Whitehorse, YT. The team, head coached by Nick DeCovich managed to pull off an exciting sweep of all 4 games against Team Yukon & Semiahmoo Ravens! 

Team Yukon is a combined team of hopefuls for the Arctic Winter Games this season, with many of the players fielded right from Whitehorse. The other team participating in this "International Showdown" was from a  town just outside Vancouver, BC Canada. 

“Going into the weekend, there was some uncertainty with how with how the kids would adjust to 20 minute periods. " Said DeCovich "For most of them, it was the first time playing a game with a full zam between periods. It actually worked in their favor in the deciding game against the Ravens. After being down 0-4 after one, that intermission gave them a chance to regroup and recharge. "

"Our approach for the weekend was to treat each period as its own game. They won the next “game”, the second period, stayed even in the third, and got the win in an exciting shootout.  I think that was their first come from behind win of the season. Hopefully that will be something they feed on the next time they find themselves behind on the scoreboard.”

“Obviously, winning the tournament is a lot of fun. Our kids played some fast, physical hockey. That was the icing on the cake for a trip full of memories that will last a lifetime. The other teams were class acts, and our parents looked like they had a good time meeting other parents at the rink. The kids really seemed to bond and enjoy spending time together off the ice.”

The weekend was filled with trips to the local sports complex for some swimming, basketball and recreation, accompanied by some stops at Canadian Tire to restock with sock tape and new sticks. Coaches filled up on necessities, buying new water bottles, pucks and other various sundries that can only be found at a tire shop in Canada! 

Parents were able to fill up their coffee fixes at Tim Horton's ( and maybe grab some tasty treats).