Cloverdale will play for gold.
The U18A1 Cloverdale Colts downed the U18 AA North East Trackers 3-1 in the gold medal semi-final game at the B.C. Hockey provincial championships March 19.
The Colts played a strong first period, controlling most of the play, with captain Matteo David Galasso scoring at 5:59 of the first to put the Colts up 1-0. Cloverdale added a short-handed marker less than three minutes into the second when Galasso potted his second of the game while on the PK. The Trackers managed their only goal of the game late in the second frame when Easton Goulet added a tally 5-hole on the Colts' keeper. Both teams fought hard in the third, with Ty Russell Jeffrey adding an empty-netter to seal Clovy's birth in the final.
"It was anyone's game (in the 3rd), but the Colts had more left in the tank and were very strong to play against," said Sarah Parker, whose brother Brenden Parker is an AC on the team.
Cloverdale's Saahil Takhar stopped 24 of 25 shots between the pipes, while Trackers' netminder Evan Umbach saved 38 of 40 shots faced.
The Colts now face the winner of the other provincial semifinal between the U18A1 Victoria Admirals and the U18A1 Ridge meadows Rustlers.
Cloverdale finished atop their pool after the round-robin, going 2-1.
The U18s opened the tournament with a 5-3 win over the Admirals. They beat OMAHA North Regional (an Okanagan zone team) 3-2. And they closed out the round-robin with a 4-2 loss to the East Kootenay Avalanche zone team.
The U18 Tier 1 provincial championships began March 16 at Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex and wrap up today. Poirier is the home rink of the Coquitlam Express.
Puck drops for the gold medial game at 8 p.m.
The rink is located at 633 Poirier Street in Coquitlam.
