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All stars compete in season-ending tournament

Powell River Minor Hockey Association hosts out-of-town teams for three-day event
Midget Stars
BRONZE MEDALISTS: Midget Stars teammates taking part in last weekend’s All-Star tournament hosted by Powell River Minor Hockey Association included [front row, from left] Jared Russell, Ryan Ciarniello, Noah Dodsworth, Dominic Pagani, Ruven Hoppe, Pavan Naryan, Scott McKenzie, Ethan Gilham, head coach Dale McCormack, [middle row, from left] assistant coaches Randy Ciarniello and Bill Chernoff, Reade Kowall, Jacob Amato, Bailey Piccinin, [back row, from left] Konner Koshey, Joshua Chernoff, Tristan Gilham, Yesh Reuven, Isaac Shelton, Luke Muskee, Nick Capiello, and Jackson McCormack. Contributed photo

Powell River Minor Hockey Association hosted its ninth annual All-Star tournament from March 30 to April 1 at Powell River Recreation Complex. The event included 267 players from Nanaimo, Comox, Campbell River and Sechelt Peninsula, as well as four local teams representing atom, pee wee, bantam and midget divisions.

“It is called All-Star because associations can put together one team with all their best house players, which is usually not allowed by BC Hockey and Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association,” said Powell River Minor Hockey Midget Stars manager team Stephan Hoppe. “It is the only house all-star tournament in BC.”

Teams in each division played three round-robin games, followed by semi-final and medal games. All games were extremely competitive and the semi-finals were all close, including Powell River Midget Stars losing their semi-final game in a shootout, according to Hoppe.

“The idea behind this tournament is to give house players a competitive outlet and keep the gap between the rep and house program closer,” said Hoppe. “Many of this year’s midget rep BC champions and BC bronze-medal winning bantam rep players have been part of the all-star program in the past.”

Rick Hopper, who organized the first all-star tournament, was on hand to select an all-star team from each division and present each of those players with a prize.

“The financial impact this tournament has for local businesses is enormous,” said Hoppe. “Last year, Rick presented the City of Powell River a financial report that came to the conclusion that the tournament brought about $150,000 to town. He now figures all tournaments combined have created about $1 million in revenue for local businesses.

Hoppe said the tournament is not only a great experience for local players, but also economically good “considering the average family spends about $1,000 on a three-day hockey tournament.”

Atom and midget teams representing Powell River won bronze medals, while the pee wee and bantam teams placed fourth.