The Penticton Heat midget boys lacrosse team will remain a B-team headed into provincials after a tough fought tournament over the weekend.
Coach Del Halladay said the team decided to try their hand in an A2 division at the Barnburner tournament in Penticton, and although their showing didn’t change their division classification, they did quite well.
The Heat first battled Saanich, who would go on to win the A2 side of the tournament.
“The score was 5-3 for Saanich. We were right there going into the last few minutes. The final score ended up 7-3 because we were so close going into the last couple minutes that we pulled our goalie,” said Halladay.
“I was quite proud of the way the guys played particularly against Saanich. It’s the best they’ve played all year against a really good team,” he added.
The team, which has an oversized roster at 24 players, aged 15 to 16, had a tough go against Rockyview from Calgary.
“They actually beat up on us pretty good. They won 14-4. They’re a very good team. It was not our best showing,” said Halladay.
The Heat then played against Ridge Meadows in their final two games on the A2 side winning both 5-4 on Saturday and 9-4 on Sunday.
“Maple Ridge is about .500 in the A2 league in Vancouver. We’re in kind of an awkward position. We’re the bottom end of the A2 and the top end of of the B division,” he said.
Stepping up throughout the tournament was Heat goalie Rowan Brown, who’s in his final year of midget play.
“He was phenomenal. He came up with some pretty great saves. It was some of the best lacrosse I’ve seen him play. This was kind of his final hurrah, so it was great to see him play this well.”
The team has a few league games left before zone playoffs and then provincials at the end of July.