Third-year SilverBack forward Alex Gillies is off to a great start with Team Canada West at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge in Nova Scotia.
Gillies and Team Canada West took on Switzerland Monday in Yarmouth, N.S. in the first game of the tournament, where Gillies scored in Canada West’s 4-3 victory.
’Backs fans know all about Gillies’ skill, as he started the BCHL season with 16 goals, and 24 points in just 16 games.
While he may be the only SilverBack on the Team Canada West roster, he’s not the only player from the BCHL’s Interior Division, as six other players from the region made the grade, including West Kelowna’s Adam Plant, Vernon’s Demico Hannoun, Merritt’s Dane Birks and Jeff Wight, and Penticton’s Paul Stoykewych.
In an exhibition game over the weekend against the United States in Digby, N.S., Team Canada West lost a 3-2 squeaker. Yesterday Canada West was to take on the Czech Republic.
Preliminary round games continue until today. The group winners from the preliminary rounds will receive an automatic bye to the semifinals, while the second-place and third-place teams will cross over for the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals go ahead on Thursday, Nov. 7, with the semifinal games on Friday, Nov. 8. The bronze medal game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Mariners Centre in Yarmouth. The gold medal game is being played at noon on Sunday, Nov. 10.