Valley West Hawks sweep Ice as Major Midget opens season
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Valley West Hawks scored early and often en route to a 9-1 shellacking of the Kootenay Ice in B.C. Hockey Major Midget League action Sunday at the NDCC Arena.
The win came on the heels of a come-from-behind 7-4 victory by Valley West Hawks Saturday afternoon over the Ice in Nelson.
The games marked the opening of the BCMMHL season.
Jordan Funk, with his first of two on the night, scored in the first minute to begin the rout, poking a rebound past Ice netminder Jason Mailhiot of Trail.
Luke Gingras scored twice with singles going to Paul Smith, Davis Koch, Mitch Newsome and captain Paul Savage.
Ty Westgard added five assists for the Hawks.
Coy Prevost of Kimberley scored the lone goal for Kootenay.
Saturday, Kootenay held period leads of 2-1 and 4-3 before Valley West scored four times in the third period to complete the comeback.
Seven different players scored for the Hawks.
Prevost, Aigne McGready-Bruce of Nelson, Trevor Van Steinburg of Cranbrook and Spencer McLean of Montrose scored for the Ice.
Kootenay travels to Richmond Saturday to face the Vancouver Northeast Giants in a two-game weekend series.
The weekend series was the first taste of Major Midget hockey for new Kootenay coach Rob Wright.
Wright replaced Mario DiBella last week after the former skipper resigned due to work commitments.
