The annual Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association (PCAHA) Midget Scholarship Tournament is under way, with local players in the hunt for a bursary, and a game in Maple Ridge tonight.
Game time is 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Cam Neely Arena, and Jacob Stevenson, Trevor Graham and Cross Corrigan are the Rustlers players who will represent Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey in the event. This will be the only tournament game in Maple Ridge.
The tournament is open to third-year midget players who make their regional team. All players must have a C-plus average in school to qualify. There are two teams from the Fraser Valley and two more from Greater Vancouver in the regional tournament, and round-robin games were played in West Vancouver and Richmond on Tuesday night.
Ridge Meadows Players on the Fraser Valley Oilers team, generally grouped with players from Coquitlam, Port Moody and Mission – north of the Fraser.
The championship game will be played at 8 p.m. on Saturday at North Delta’s Sungod Arena, with the bronze game happening right before, at 4:45 p.m.
Based on their play in the tournament, a player from each team will be awarded a $500 bursary, courtesy of the Vancouver Canucks Alumni Association.
All of the players will get a medal of some colour.
The event is an annual showcase of the talents of graduating Midget A players, and is designed for the PCAHA to promote scholastic achievement. It also promotes sportsmanship, and any player who has incurred a match penalty, gross misconduct or excessive penalty minutes during the current season is ineligible.
The event has been running since 1978.