The Yale Hockey Academy defended home ice and captured the championship at the Bauer Bantam Elite Invite Tournament, which ran from Oct. 8 to 11 at Summit Centre in Abbotsford.
Yale went a perfect 3-0 in divisional play, opening with a 7-1 win over the Northwest Calgary Athletic Association Flames on Oct. 8 morning and then beating the Sherwood Park Flyers 6-0 in the evening. They then edged Okanagan Hockey Academy Edmonton 4-3 on Oct. 9 to finish atop the Nexus Pool.
YHA defeated Edge U15 Prep 6-4 in the opening playoff round on Oct. 10, beat Burnaby Winter Club 6-1 on Oct. 11 morning and then clinched the title with a 5-0 win over Delta Green U15 Prep on Oct. 11 afternoon.
.@YHA_Lions’ Grant Reid on his team’s game plan ahead of their gold medal match against Delta. #bauerelite pic.twitter.com/qWZcOx7t6r
— Bauer Bantam Elite Invite (@BantamBauer) October 11, 2021
Yale’s Will Sharpe was named the tournament’s most valuable player, and he collected seven goals and six assists. Braeden Cootes was third in tournament scoring with three goals and eight assists.
Congratulations to our tournament MVP Will Sharpe! #bauerelite pic.twitter.com/afwiOOMIDo
— Bauer Bantam Elite Invite (@BantamBauer) October 11, 2021
The YHA U15 Prep team is a perfect 3-0 early into the Canadian Sport School Hockey League season. Sharpe and Cootes have four points apiece in those three games.
The team next hosts Okanagan on Sunday (Oct. 17) at 1:15 p.m.
Your 2021 Bauer Elite Invite Champions! Congratulations, @YHA_Lions on an outstanding tournament. #champs #elite pic.twitter.com/zCptvTAED6
— Bauer Bantam Elite Invite (@BantamBauer) October 11, 2021