Nearly 60 teams arrived in Burnaby around Christmas and eight left on New Year's with a special green banner for their barns - one of which is staying home.
Burnaby Winter Club (BWC) won gold in the Integrated U13 Elite division of the 2023 Pat Quinn Classic.
The black and yellow prevailed in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Penticton U13 Tier 1 Knights last Sunday, Dec. 31.
Forward Jack Davison scored the game-tying goal with less than six minutes left in the third period, as well as the game-winning marker 71 seconds into the extra frame. Teammate Nick Hill also recorded a multi-point game with two helpers in the final.
BWC also claimed a silver medal in the Integrated U17 Flight 1 division after falling 5-4 in overtime to Yale Hockey Academy at Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
This year's Pat Quinn Classic also saw the tournament's first-ever European squad compete alongside 19 other international teams.
Esbjerg U16 Ice Hockey Club (EIK) travelled from Denmark for the annual event, and while they didn't finish with a victory, they managed to tie their final preliminary match 4-4 with the Sno-King U16 AA Jr. Thunderbirds.
Kalli Quinn, daughter of hockey legend Pat Quinn, called this year's tournament, "amazing," especially with the inclusion of a European team.
"It’s exciting for me because my family travelled all over the world for hockey," she said.
"And to see a team from Denmark want to come to Canada and participate in this event is fantastic.
"It’s about the kids playing hockey. This gives them an experience and another reason to love the game."
The winning teams were as follows:
- U13 Flight 1 = Langley MHA U13 A1 Tier 1 Eagles
- U13 Elite = Burnaby Winter Club U13 A1
- Female U13 Elite = Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds 12UAA
- U15 Flight 1 = Yale Hockey Academy U15 Varsity
- U15 Flight 2 = Nanaimo MHA U15 Tier 1 Clippers
- Female U15 Elite = Sno-King Jr. Thunderbirds 14UAA
- U17 Flight 1 = Yale Hockey Academy U17 Prep Lions
- U17 Flight 2 = RINK hockey Academy U17 Prep Red
