Darren Hards played through serious illness at the West Coast Classic inline hockey tournament Sunday, leading his team to victory.
Sick most of the night and right up until his Prince George Suits were scheduled to play their semifinal against the '98 Warriors, a select team from Langley and realizing his team had only six skaters and one goalie, playing four-on-four hockey, the 14-year-old Hards refused to give in to how lousy he felt. He responded with two goals and two assists to lead his team to 5-3 win.
In the final, Hards picked up a goal and two assists in a 7-3 win over Zulu A of the North Shore Winter Club.
"He went back to the rink, puked before the game, sat on the bench and didn't do the warmup and after the game he puked and slept all the way home," said Prince George coach Brian Hards. "We had no spares and he gutted it up. He had some Tylenols and Gravols and played, and got sick during the game."
The Suits, named for their black and white jerseys which resemble tuxedos, are believed to be the first team of Prince George players ever to win the triple-A division in the annual Langley tournament. The accomplishment is even more impressive considering the larger population bases of the Lower Mainland teams and the fact some of those players play roller hockey year-round in dedicated inline facilities.
The Suits finished with a 5-1 record. After losing their first game 7-3 to Zulu A, they reeled off nothing but wins against Zulu B, 5-3; Warriors B, 8-0; and '98 Warriors, 2-1.
Also suiting up for Prince George were Dylan Krahn, James Gordon, Mitchell Williams, Rob Raju Ryan Watson and Devin Wasylyshen, who was named the top goalie in his first-ever inline tournament.
In the skills competition, Williams and Hards finished 1-2 in the shootout, while Krahn was the second-fastest skater.
The Suits are picked from the house league teams in the Northern B.C. Inline Roller Hockey Association, which started its two-month season in early May. The league has about 80 players.
Because there are no other cities in north central B.C. where roller hockey is played, Prince George teams have to travel to the Lower Mainland or Alberta for rep team games.
All house league games in Prince George are played Tuesday-Thursday from 6-9 p.m. at Kin 3.
Two Prince George teams including the Suits will be in Sherwood Park, Alta., for a tournament this weekend. As many as four teams from Prince George will enter the provincial championships, June 28-July 1 in North Vancouver.
The league will also send a team or two to the State Wars tournament in Chicago, July 31-Aug. 10. Last year, Hards's team of 1998-born players won the silver medal in the triple-A division at State Wars in St. Louis.
