March 2, 2014
The number 3 seeded Arbutus Club Bantam A1s Avalanche have surprised two higher ranked teams to emerge as the favorite to finish first in Tier 3 Final 4 play, hosted at North Shore Winter Club.
The big A1 club from Vancouver have used their size and strength to advantage to defeat Sunshine Coast 5-2 in Game 1, and top seed Langley A3, 4-2 in game two.
Sunshine Coast A1 and Langley A3 are currently tied in second place, each with a win and a loss, with Abbotsford rounding out fourth spot, with two losses.
Sunshine Coast, also a big A1 team, met their size match in the game one loss against Arbutus and then edged Abbotsford A3s 3-2 in game two.
Langley won their first game 3-0 vs Abbotsford, after jumping out to an early 2-0 lead and then hanging on against a determined Hawks team through the final two frames.
PCAHA Bantam Tier 3, Final 4 Results so far.
| Series | Bantam Tier 3 Final 4 | GF | All Games at NSWC | GA | ||
| Final 4 | Date | Start Time | Home | Away | ||
| 1 v 4 | 28-Feb | 18:15 | Langley Bantam A3 | 3 | Abbotsford A3 | 0 |
| 2 vs 3 | 28-Feb | 20:45 | Sunshine Coast A1 | 2 | Arbutus A1 | 5 |
| 4 vs 2 | 1-Mar | 16:30 | Abbotsford A3 | 3 | Sunshine Coast A1 | 4 |
| 3 vs 1 | 1-Mar | 19:00 | Arbutus A1 | 4 | Langley Bantam A3 | 2 |
| 3 vs 4 | 3-Mar | 18:15 | Arbutus A1 | Abbotsford A3 | ||
| 1 vs 2 | 3-Mar | 20:45 | Langley Bantam A3 | Sunshine Coast A1 |
PCAHA Bantam Tier 3, Final 4 Standings
| Seed | Rank | Flt | Place | Bantam Tier 3 Final 4 | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
| 1 | 30 | F3 | 8 | Langley Ban A3-T3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2 | 34 | F4 | 2 | SunshineCst A1-T3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 3 | 38 | F4 | 6 | Arbutus Ban A1-T3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| 4 | 44 | F4 | 12 | Abby Bantam A3-T3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Regular season records:
| Sd | Rank | Flt | Fin | Tier 3 Tams | GP | W | L | T | Spt | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| 1 | 30 | F3 | 8 | Langley Ban A3-T3 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 31 | 46 | 63 | 163 |
| 2 | 34 | F4 | 2 | SunshineCst A1-T3 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 50 | 87 | 41 | 257 |
| 5 | 38 | F4 | 6 | Arbutus Ban A1-T3 | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 19 | 38 | 74 | 73 | 171 |
| 6 | 44 | F4 | 12 | Abby Ban A3-T3 | 20 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 17 | 23 | 49 | 90 | 197 |
Background:
Feb. 27, 2014
Only two of the top seeds have advanced to the Final 4 in the PCAHA Bantam Tier 3 division, and only one sailed through, #34 Sunshine Coast Blues, who thumped #47 Vancouver T-Birds 12-0 and 6-1 in Round 3.
Sunshine Coast finished second in Flight 4 league play with the best winning record (17-3-0), behind Seattle SnoKings (16-1-3), and as a big A1 team, with solid goal-tending and a rushing defence, could be the favorite going in.
Top seeded Langley A3, who played in Flight 3 in regular season competition (3-11-6) and came in ranked #30 over all, needed three games to down #50 West Vancouver A1, who were 9-9-3 in Flight 5. Langley were the only A3 team to play Flight 3, finishing 8th of 11.
In a big upset, #44 ranked Abbotsford A3 (2-16-2) downed #35 NSWC A3 (13-3-4) in three games. Abby had finished 12th in Flight 3 with just two regular season wins. NSWC had finished 3rd, one back of Sunshine Coast, who had handed the Winterhawks two of their three league losses (2-0, 4-3). Abby stole two away games in the Final 4 qualifier, 4-1 and 4-2 at NSWC, despite being outshot 43-23 in the last game. Abby’s hot goaltending, gritty determination and new confidence will be a factor in the tournament.
Arbutus Club A1 come in to the tournament as the possible sleeper team. The Club team finished 6th in Flight 3, 8-9-3, ranked 38th over all. Despite a so-so record, the team had good success against the top teams. They tied NSWC 3-3 on Dec 7; beat Sunshine Coast 5-1 Dec 8, and won both games against Abby, 7-2 and 4-1. They definitely have a shot at finishing in the top 2.
The top two teams will advance from the Final 4 to play for the Provincial Championships in West Kelowna.
