The Fraser Valley Phantom are heading to their second consecutive Esso Cup female Midget hockey national championship tournament, with five local players making the trip.
The Phantom swept the Okanagan Rockets 2-0 and 1-0 in a best-of-three BC Hockey championship series at the Langley Sportsplex this past weekend.
Surrey residents on the Phantom include forwards Katelin Korman and Mackenzie Wong, and defenders Mandy Pollock and Taygen Rosner. Cloverdale resident Morgan Symington is a goaltender.
The Phantom finished first in the six-team league this season with a 22-1-7 (won-lost-tied) record, and defeated the West Coast Avalanche 2-1 in a best-of-three semifinal series.
Fraser Valley is the only team from B.C. to have played in an Esso Cup tournament, placing fifth at the eight-team event they hosted last year in Burnaby.
This year’s tournament is April 20-26 in Stoney Creek, Ontario. The host team as well as regional champions from British Columbia, Alberta, West (Saskatchewan/Manitoba), Ontario and Atlantic (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island) will play a round robin series, with four teams qualifying of the playoff round.