The Prince George midget B lacrosse squad became the first team in five years to earn a shutout victory in the medal round of the B.C. minor box lacrosse championships on the weekend.
And they did it against a usual powerhouse squad from Coquitlam.
Prince George blanked the Lower Mainland team 5-0 to win the bronze medal at the provincial tournament Sunday in Campbell River.
"A shutout in the medal round is very rare. To beat a Vancouver-based team like that is just awesome," said assistant coach Don Wittmeier. "That was only our 13th game of the year. [We] played a perfect game. Any time there was a rebound, we picked it up and went on offence."
Douglas Porter led the way with two goals, while Max Basi, Alex Nimmo and Hayden Kerr notched single tallies. Nimmo and Kerr were pickups from Prince George's bantam team.
Goalie Jonathon Wittmeier earned the shutout victory between the posts.
The third-place finish came after a 2-1 round-robin record and a 10-5 cross-over semifinal loss to Burnaby.
"The boys were disappointed they didn't make the final but they were in every game and we ended up with bronze," said head coach Blake McIntosh. "And we only go to two tournaments every year. It was a successful weekend."
Prince George edged Penticton 5-4 in their opening match, then clobbered Juan de Fuca 7-2. Their lone preliminary round loss came against Vancouver, 9-6.
"Penticton was a closer game than we expected but we pulled it off," said McIntosh. "We put it together against Juan de Fuca and against Vancouver, they had two really strong players who we couldn't shut down. With Burnaby in the cross-over game, we hung with them the first two periods and they pulled away in the third."
Jonathon Wittmeier backstopped the team all weekend in net.
Steven Kidwell broke a hand at the beginning of the game against Juan de Fuca and toughed it out until the third game against Vancouver.
Prince George captain Jarred Stevens had a strong tournament and earned an all-star nod and tournament MVP. Stevens also won the Subway Zone 8 player of the year award while Trent Emel of Vanderhoof (Stevens' teammate) earned the award for Zone 7. Both players earned $500 scholarships.
The Warrior Fair Play award, one that's awarded to a player who exhibits fair play, displays great effort and plays with integrity, was awarded to Williams Lake's Jared Houston-Yuill who plays for the P.G. squad.
Other members of the team include: Andrew Heitman, Jake McIntosh, Cameron Prouse, Griffin Wal, Luca daSilva, Nick Hansen, Skylar Roy, Sera Fina, David Rogers and back-up netminder Justin Wittmeier, Jon Wittmeier's twin brother.
The other assistant coach is Kevin Prouse.
Coach McIntosh said the core of the team will be together next season, with only five players aging out and 10 returnees.
Peewees come close
The Prince George peewee B squad competed in their provincial championships July 18-20 in Richmond.
They posted a 1-2 round-robin record and did not qualify for the playoffs.
They opened the tournament with an 8-5 victory over host Richmond but suffered nail-biting losses against Abbotsford (7-6) and Victoria-Esquimault (6-5).
"We lost both games with just minutes remaining," said coach McIntosh. "They proved they belong. It was a good and successful tournament. Everyone played well whereas last year they were getting blown out and they turned it around this year."
Goaltender Stewart Vassallo was a stalwart in the net while Jake Nohr earned an all-star nod.
The team carried 15 players out front and two goalies.
Players on the squad include: Aiden Reeves, Jaydon March-Merrit, Rhys Vassallo, Connor Dionne, Konnor McIntosh, Jackson Parrish, Riley Stevens, Ethan Porter, Sean Meehan, Devin Porter, Cole Drover, Rylan Kerkhof and Logan and Ryan Nemitz.
The assistant coaches are Dom Sia and Mike Meehan.
