Moses Lake hosts Midget Winter Classic
Noah Lybbert (1) eyes up a wrist shot against the Seattle Jr. Admirals at the Larson Recreation Center, in Moses Lake. Lybbert’s Coyotes won 6-3.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Youth Hockey Association hosted the Midget Winter Classic at the Larson Recreation Center's outdoor rink. The tournament featured U-18 teams from Tri-Cities, Kent, Everett, Seattle and Spokane. Each team played a total of four games, in a round-robin tournament. The Midget C-level tournament was a chance for each team to gauge themselves against competition they don't often face. The Seattle Jr. Admirals sent their Bantam B (14-and-under) team to Moses Lake to see how they'd fare in a higher weight class. The Jr. Admirals were undersized and over-matched all weekend, but put up a good fight against the Coyotes on Saturday.
A power play goal by Bryce Christensen pulled Seattle within a goal with just under ten minutes left to play, but a pair of late goals made the 6-3 victory seem more convincing for Moses Lake. The Jr. Admirals earned their lone win of the weekend by beating Tri-Cities in the seventh-place game on Sunday.
Even Moses Lake's coach Ty Howard was happy to see the Jr. Admirals come away with a win.
"The level they play at is pretty high for their age group-they're here playing at a Midget C level,” he said. “It was nice to see them get one after getting their lunch handed to them all weekend."
While the Jr. Admirals played in a higher division for the tournament, Seattle's Jr. Eagles were clearly used to a higher level of play.
"They killed pretty much everyone they played. The finals were 5-0," Howard said, referring to Sunday's championship game against the Everett Jr. Silvertips. Everett opened the tournament on Friday night, handing Moses Lake a frustrating 6-1 defeat.
"We had some early calls go against us," Howard said.
The win over the Jr. Admirals earned the Coyotes a chance for third place on Sunday, but got shut out 3-0 by the Inland Empire Warhorses.
Despite the loss, Howard said, "It was probably their best overall effort. I'm proud of them."
Howard said his Coyotes will be back in action this weekend in Coeur d'Alene before concluding their season at the Larson Recreation Center Feb. 27 for a pair of games against Lewiston at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.