Years from now, when they look back on their time playing for B.C. at the 2011 State Wars roller hockey championships in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jordan Carstairs, Tyson Young and Regan Young won't be thinking about how they started the tournament.
But they will remember how it ended.
The three Prince George boys started from scratch after an 0-3 beginning and ended up winning their last three games to capture gold in the double-A division for 1993-born players.
Carstairs, 18, scored two goals and Regan Young, 16, fired a single to lift B.C. to a 4-3 win over New York in the championship game Saturday morning.
Carstairs was selected most valuable player in the championship game and was rewarded with an $800 pair of roller blades, while Regan Young was picked as the tournament's most valuable defenceman.
Coached by Rob Carstairs of Prince George (Jordan's dad), Team B.C. defeated Southern California 2-1 in a semifinal playoff Friday night. They earned their first win Thursday, a 6-2 triumph over Missouri.
Consecutive losses in the triple-A division to Texas (3-1), Ohio (6-2) and Southern California (7-2) convinced the B.C. squad to drop down a notch into the 11-team double-A division. The B.C. team had just seven skaters (one less than the maximum allowed) and one goaltender and had several 1994-born players in the lineup against teams of mostly older 1993-born players.
Prince George players also left their mark on the medal podium in three other age divisions at State Wars, all at the triple-A level. Gregory Williams, Darren Hards and Ryan Watson won silver in the 1998-born tournament; Mitchell Truefitt and Chris Metcalfe captured bronze in the 1997-born bracket; and Garrett Hill, Justin Hards, Kirk Hards and goalie Kris Joyce nailed down bronze in the 1995 age division.
