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West Van wins inaugural DHA Bantam Winter Classic

Co-host DHA Green edged in championship game of 9-team event at Planet Ice
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DHA White's Adrian Stasiniak battles with Calgary's Zack Mansfield during action at the inaugural Delta Wild Bantam Winter Classic at Planet Ice.

West Vancouver Warriors Academy skated to victory at the inaugural Delta Wild Bantam Classic at Planet Ice.

The Warriors slipped past Delta Hockey Academy’s Wild Green in Sunday’s championship game after both teams had recorded earlier semi-final triumphs over Okanagan Hockey Academy and Burnaby Winter Club Academy respectively. 

The nine-team event, which featured academy and minor hockey association entries, also included Calgary Royals, Yale Lions, St. George’s Saints, Victoria Racquet Club and co-host DHA White.

The tournament all-star team included DHA Green members Mathew Ward (forward) and Henry Smith (defenceman). They were joined by goalie Kyle Kelsey (BWC), defenceman Mats Lingren (BWC) and fowards Conner Bedard (West Van) and Tyson Zimmer (OHA).

DHA Greens’ road to the final began with round-robin wins over Calgary (6-3), Yale (5-4) and BWC (5-4), while dropping a 3-2 decision to West Van on Friday night in what proved to be a preview of the final. 

DHA White just missed out on a playoff berth, going 2-2 in preliminary play with wins over Calgary (6-4) and Victoria (1-0). It was a tight 6-5 loss to Okanagan them out of the final four.

Both DHA teams play at the Bantam Prep level of the Canadian School Sport Hockey League.

Next weekend, DHA hosts a regular season Midget Prep Showcase at Planet Ice with games starting on Friday afternoon.